Green Haired Greek In Brockton Bay (Worm CYOA v3)
by ItzNarcotic
Summary: With the body, powers, and Noble Phantasms of Achilles from Fate: Apocrypha after filling out a CYOA, SI is sent to Brockton Bay. What could go wrong, really? Tentatively rated T but may change to M. Updates when possible from 12 to 7 P.M PST(Unless stated otherwise).
1. Πριν από το Ταξίδι 0

Note: I got inspiration from a story called God Save The Queen on Spacebattles. Go check it out, its a pretty good story.

Crossposted from Sufficient Velocity. Posted onto FF.

Πριν από το Ταξίδι 0

Sipping my cup of hot cocoa at my desk, I was quite relaxed this evening. I let out a long yawn before going through my email. Looking through the 30 spam messages I found an odd messenger going by . It was disturbing that people kept getting my email but I raised an eyebrow. The subject line read: 'Worm CYOA renewed. What will you choose?'. As I finished reading that line I opened the message. It was somewhat like the old version but it had less ways to break it. As I looked through the choices I pondered my options.

Going to difficulty I chose Standard as none of the original powers appealed to me. Besides, I was trying to make a character without any of the world breaking powers while having a somewhat strong powerset. I went with Standard so I started with 5 points. I immediately skipped to Greater powers as none of the lesser powers really attracted my attention besides Wildcard(I'm a man of chance) and I wanted a somewhat varied powerset that existing characters didn't have.

Looking through the list Greater powers I considered the options. Crossover powers of my choice seemed really tempting but you plateaued at Triumvirate level strength… nah. Exalted was the option that many chose as it was powerful but I skimmed over it. The Gamer power (based off the manga series), Mad Talent (essentially become a literal mad lad?), Servant (heroic spirit powers), and Words of Power (Dragonborn pretty much). Many tempting options to choose from.

Skimming through the descriptions of the powers I saw that Servant costs more than the other choices. Gilgamesh and Karna, huh? I almost immediately type Gilgamesh before hesitating. Wasn't he a dick? Maybe more of a pretentious asshole with the power to back it up, but I don't wanna act like that. Worm has tons of douchebags and there's no reason to add myself to that list. They did mention Karna, so that meant it wasn't restricted to Fate/Stay Night servants. Grinning like a mad man I type in 'Rider of Red - Fate/Apocrypha'. Hell yeah! Achilles is freaking overpowered! His stats are pretty amazing, he has tons of powerful Noble Phantasms, and is the second most known heroes of Greece. The CYOA doesn't imply that you don't get your power decreased due to a weak master so I would probably be a fully enhanced Rider. He also is not a Grade A douchebag.

Advantages and Disadvantages next. With all his NPs, Achilles would still have trouble with Scion. Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē could at least injure his avatar, but not his actual body. He didn't exist in this dimension and he couldn't be hurt by anything but Flechette's Sting Shard. I chose Without a Map for a single point, as not choosing where you end up isn't too detrimental. I took Wanted points for all the gangs in Brockton Bay as if I ended up there, I could destroy them all. If not, then whatever. That was 5 points I got. I used one each on Man of Mystery and Special Snowflake. I was uncertain whether Trump's could screw with a Servant and did not want to take chances. Same for Man of Mystery. The 3 points I put into an ability that allowed Achilles' Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē NP to have Stings' Shard properties to hurt Scion and jailbroke it.

After double checking my response, I sent the reply. My vision grew blurred and I felt extremely tired. As I slept, I dreamt of a life that wasn't mine and skirmishes of war.

????????

I woke to the light of the moonlight in the midnight sky. I stood up and looked around. I saw that I was on a small hill overlooking a lush green forest covering the ground ahead for miles upon miles. As I sat back down I heard a loud clang, like metal hitting the ground. I barely paid it any thought as I would check it out later. As I fell asleep, I heard a voice in the close distance. A voice with soft undertones yet filled with contempt.

"Oh? Is he who I think he is?" it questioned. "It's been sometime, hasn't it?" Wait, what?

"You and him are so similar, yet different at the same time." the voice pondered. "The world needs a hero. A true hero. Are you willing to help?" I nodded tiredly. "I see. At least you are alike in that regard." It stared off in the distance with a wistful look on its face.

"Very well. You can have our blessings. For the time being, at least. May the gods guide your way, ????????." That was the last thing I heard as I finally drifted off to sleep.


	2. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-1

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.1

???????? POV

When I finally woke up it was to the bright light of the sun shining on my head. Opening my eyes I noticed something. I was still on the same hill from before. I examined my surroundings. How did I come here? This location had a serene, graceful sort of air that made me feel relaxed. When I stood, I heard a loud yet familiar clanging noise beneath me.

As my gaze went downwards my eyes widened. I was donning a black bodysuit, my chest covered with a shiny gold plate that had a depiction of a bird. Various other parts of my body were covered in gold plate as well, like my shoulders, hips, boots, and hands. An orange sash, a long odd yet familiar cloth, wrapped around my(Achilles?) body. My build was firm and strong, befitting the hero of the Trojan War. I recognized the armor immediately. How could I not? This was made specifically for myself. It was forged by Hephaestus as a request from my mother Thetis. I closed my eyes and started thinking rationally. If my guess was correct, then I have been reincarnated into the body of Achilles. I had no clue as to where I was. Although I took Without a Map, this was quite infuriating. I thought I would be sent into at least a named area, not a random forest in the middle of nowhere!

"Where the hell am I supposed to go?" I ponder to myself, taking in my situation. Then I realize something else.

"My voice sounds badass!" I exclaim with utter eagerness. I pointed in front of me and made a vicious grin. "Come at me and show me your resolve, warrior!" I declared with a fearless disposition. After calming myself down, Looking at a random direction, I decided to go walking until I found something of significance. Humanity feared the unknown for a reason, after all.

While I wandered my thoughts strayed to my memories. A bit of musing made me realize that I could recall Achilles life as if it happened yesterday. I recall the pride Achilles felt when he proclaimed to Thetis that he wanted to be a great hero. I recall the shame he felt when he killed Penthesilea the Amazon Queen, due to her beauty. I recall the pain and rage he had of Hector after the death of Patroclus. I recall the utter satisfaction he had when he battled Hector and dragged his bloody corpse through the battlefield with his chariot, slaughtering many soldiers. I recall the tenacity and sheer strength Achilles had when even on his dying breath, despite being pierced through the heart many a time after his heel was struck. I recall another life, not of my own. The one which led me to this strange predicament. Which was the real me? Was I an amalgamation of memories with Achilles' body? Was I really Achilles or someone else? Who was I, really? I closed that line of thought for now, shaking my head slightly. I would be getting no answers at the moment. It was difficult to ascertain something you had no information on, after all. Especially those of divine presence.

It was at that moment I heard a voice, not of the soft undertones as before, but a voice of desperation. She sounded out of breath, like she had just been in a fight for her life. Her voice had an air of resignation, as though she had accepted her fate. Well then, what kind of hero would I be if I failed to help accept a call for help? In acknowledgement to that statement, the forest I was in erupted into a burst of bright light that enveloped my body.

Taylor's POV

It had been going better than expected. As soon as I descended my swarm on the ABB gangsters, I was able to incapacitate them by having some of my bugs bite them a couple of times. However, Lung was able to locate me faster than I had thought. He was already slightly ramped up due to the spiders, ants, and wasps around him biting and stinging his body repeatedly. I commanded wasps to sting his eyes and blind him.

"'AGH! 'm 'onna 'ill 'ou!" Lung grazed me with an explosion of heat and flame as I now clutched my badly burnt leg.

I struggled to stay up and try to retreat as fast as I could. By now all the gangsters had left the area to run from the destructive power of Lung, not wanting to be a burnt corpse on the floor. I used my bugs to keep him away, but Lung burned them all and swung with his claw.

"'RRR! 'ung 'ill end 'ou 'ow !" He slashed the leg where the burn was. Unimaginable physical pain filled me as blood exited the now open burn wound onto the cold floor of the alleyway as I laid against the wall of the alleyway.

Injured and resigned, I started to remember the Locker again. A feeling of helplessness and desperation overcome my senses.

"Please help me…" I begged. "Anybody. Please, I need help…" With hopeless sigh, I stared at the burning Lung approaching me. I suddenly felt a burning sensation on my right hand but I ignored it. An image appeared in front of me and it was as if time stopped itself.

The image of a round silver shield with a double pointed cross in the center. A light exuding confidence dulling my feeling of desperation. It portrayed a sense of bravery and tenacity. A feeling of justice and relaxation. A light of which a hero was made. Yet as I said them, I felt a sense of certainty fill me, a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. As the shield moved closer, I heard my voice say words I had no knowledge of. Time started moving as Lung advanced closer.

_"A base of silver and steel"__"A foundation of blood and hardship "__"Ancestor Schweinorg, gatekeeper of reality"__"A hero to save thy allies and smite thy foes"__"A warrior to destroy thy obstacles"__"Come, exit the battlefield of Troy to the world."_

As I proceeded speaking the shield started glowing. The alleyway lit started to light up the further I spoke. I continued as Lung came even closer to me.

_"My will shall create thee, and thy power will shatter fate itself."__"Hearing my summon, if thou are a great hero of will and power, answer my call!"__"I proclaim this. I am the good in the world. I who shall destroy evil in the world with my power."__"Hero, clad with the against the power of fate, come forth with full assurance."__"Guardian of the Heavenly Scales" _I finished with extreme confidence.

The light in the alleyway grew so bright that it flared into the dark night of the Bay. I heard a growl of disbelief from Lung and a couple of gasps from somewhere else in the area. I heard a low voice mumble in front of me.

"Well, this is a little odd." The voice said. I heard the sound of metal clanging on the ground approaching me as I looked up and saw a man in front of me.

As the light dimmed out I could see him more clearly. He was a picture of a hero. His spiky green hair and his gold armor gave him a knightly vibe, but his disposition made him look dangerous. As he put his gold gauntleted hand on my shoulder, I unconsciously tried to move back from the touch.

Achilles' POV

"Stay back here, alright? I'll deal with the big bad dragon while you rest." I took my hand off my summoners' shoulder and turned around. Walking towards Lung I put my right arm out to the side. I urged my Mana to my right hand as light flared. As the light dimmed down Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē appeared. I grabbed a hold of the spear, took a stance, and advanced towards Lung.

3rd Person POV

As Lung stared at the man, the battle between hero and villain started, and the night when the story truly began would change history forever.


	3. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-2

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.2

Achilles POV

Although Lung was only a few feet away, covered in flames and still ramped up from when he was fighting Taylor, I wasn't afraid. Maybe it was because I had Achilles' Invincibility, or maybe it was because I was extremely strong. All I knew was that at the moment, I had extreme confidence in myself. As I stared at Lung I decided to make the first move. With speed I didn't know I was capable of, I blitzed towards the dragon as I lead with a sweeping attack using the blunt of the spear. I positioned Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē to strike his leg.

"'OU 'ARE 'ALLENGE 'HE 'REAT 'ND 'IGHTY 'UNG!?!?" Lung, roaring in fury as he couldn't dodge or counter, he decided to stay defending. He crossed his arms across his chest, thinking I would strike there. Unfortunately, that was the biggest mistake he could've made in this situation.

As my attack connected with his leg, I'm pretty sure I heard the sound of his bones breaking along with roars of rage and frustration from the angry rage dragon. As I pulled back my spear from his leg, he tried to slash my face off with his claws. I parried his attack and evaded to his side, because I did not want to reveal my invulnerability this soon. I started nicking him with small slashes and injuries with skill I didn't know I possessed. Lung also started to escalate even more, for with every wound he gained, his face growing scales and horns, tiny wings growing bigger, tail elongating, and his body mass accumulating. However, his power would be his downfall.

Lung went on the offensive and tried to fry me to a crisp with his fire. Trying not to kill him, I maneuvered myself around his sight while consecutively attacking his scaled torso with light slashes and thrusts. Lung, in a state of rage, tried to swipe with his tail. Quickly, I deflected his attack, jumped in front of him, and proceeded to drive my spear forward.

Taylor's POV

As I sawthe unknown man walk towards Lung, he materialized a spear and took a stance. I let my wounded leg down onto the floor as I rested. I turned back to the cape and I felt my eyes widen beneath my mask as suddenly, he disappeared.

"'OU 'ARE 'ALLENGE 'HE 'REAT 'ND 'IGHTY 'UNG!?!?" I shivered as I heard Lung say those words.

"After all, I tried to do the same but almost died for it."Internally I laughed at that morbid thought. Externally I was quiet as I didn't want to get Lung's attention, with me laying against the wall and watching the cape fight.

And in a second the man was right in front of Lung instantly. He swung horizontally and hit Lungs' leg. I heard a loud cracking noise come from where the spear hit as I continued to watch with awe. He then proceeded to move around Lung while he was breathing fire, rapidly making little cuts and incisions using his spear into his scale-covered torso.

"He seems really strong. But I've never heard of anyone who fought with this amount of skill and power! He also moved from one place to the next in an instant! I'm sure someone who moves this fast would be well known! The fact he also was able to break Lungs' knee proves he has an extreme amount of strength too."I was wracking my head, trying to figure out who the cape was. Suddenly, I heard a loud boom which returned my attention back to the fight.

Achilles POV

I shoved my spear through his other leg. While he was roaring in pain and disbelief, I followed up with a full force uppercut. The hit created a sonic boom, knocking him into the air for a brief moment. As he fell down to the ground, dazed from the previous hit, I went to knock him out. I quickly slammed the blunt side of the spear onto his head, making a small crater in the process. Making sure he was actually knocked out, I checked once more before humming satisfied. I looked over to where Taylor was and started moving towards her.

Taylor's POV

As the cape walked towards me I touched the open wound, flinching as I felt a burning sensation spread through entirety of my leg. As he moved towards me, I was pondering how he became so strong. The way he moved was filled with the confidence and seriousness that I wished I had when I went out tonight. I was brought out of my thoughts when the cape snapped his fingers in front of me.

"Hey, you doing alright?" He asked with a concerned look on his face. I hesitantly nodded. There was a moment of brief silence.

"So, what's your cape name? My name's Rider" Rider said with an inquiring tone, breaking the awkward silence permeating this conversation.

"I-I didn't come up with one yet." Ilowly murmured. Wow! Way to go Taylor. What a first impression! You're talking to the cape that saved you and you can't even think of a decent response. He lowered his hand towards me.

"You need some help? Your leg isn't looking too good." He offered, pointing at the gash on my leg. Thinking about it for a moment, I made a decision.

"Alright." I said with acceptance. I took his hand and he pulled me up onto my legs. Wincing immediately as I stand up I almost fall down, the pain in my leg unbearable.

"Really?" When I looked at Rider he just stared at me with one of his eyebrows raised before I sighed. He pulled me up and he put my arm around his shoulder, keeping me upright.

"So, why did you decide to fight Lung?" Rider asks me with a questioning gaze.

"I overheard Lung saying he was going to shoot some kids while I was patrolling. I was going to go get help, but there was no more time left. I couldn't just let him kill them." I said, with a determined look beneath my mask.

Achilles POV

I hummed in satisfaction to her answer when I heard a voice from behind us. We both turned around as I materialized Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē in my left arm and leveled it at the person, ready to throw it if needed.

"Whoa, calm down." I saw the person, a girl in a purple bodysuit, standing on a ledge of a building. She had her hands up, suggesting she meant no harm but her tone saying otherwise. I kept my spear leveled while Taylor tensed up. In the alleyway shadows I saw many bugs, ready to strike if needed.

"Don't attack. I'm friendly. Or at least, I'm not hostile."


	4. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-3 & 1-4

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.3

Achilles' POV

I had a feeling that if Taylor's mask was off, then she'd probably have the most wary face on right now if her tense expression was anything to go by. She just escaped a literal fight for her life, and now some random girl reveals herself immediately after the fight? I would be suspicious too, if I didn't know who Tattletale was.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to fight." Tattletale said. "I just wanted to thank the knight in gaudy armor." She said, looking at me with a complicated expression on her face. I had no idea how Man of Mystery worked, but I hoped that it would negate her powers. I had picked it for this reason. After all, information is key to victory.

Tattletale "Lisa's" POV

As the cape 'Rider' leveled his spear at me, I looked over at the bug girl. Seeing if I could get anything useful from her.

_Her power lets her control bugs. Her range is a 1-2 block radius. Has a large gash on her leg as well as a 2nd degree burn on her leg. Is thankful to the cape who saved her. Is uncomfortable around you. Is ready to attack you with various bugs if necessary._

"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight." I said in an appeasing tone. "I just wanted to thank the knight in gaudy armor." Now, let's see what secrets you're hiding, 'Rider'.

C̶̯̪̺͕͂̽̑̕a̵̱̳̅̀ņ̷̮̪͙̹̩̖͖͎̟̃ ̷̱̞͓̤͚͔͙̤̪̤̐́͑̒͠ȩ̶̲̉͑̐͗ä̶̗̺̻͚̔̒̌͋ș̸̨̢̨͓̥̟̽̓͌͠͝į̵̮̟̲̊̇l̸̛̺̐̎̋̔̊͑͘ỵ̴̥͉̞͓̳͎̞̞͌ ̸̻̙̭̍̒k̶̢̟̓̈́͌͆̍̑́i̶̳̖͛͐͂̏̅̀͝͠ḻ̶̭̖̃̓̌̿͋͌͘l̷̤͎̩͍̣͎̓̌̉̀̄͒̚ ̶̢͉̩͎̖̙̝͑͋̽̆̓̏̄̈͗e̷͚͉̫̯͉̦̻̺͇̒̔̓̑̽̒̽̓̚͝v̶̫͚̖̬̱̥̞͕͂̆̌͜ͅḛ̴̛̛͒͋͌̀͘r̴͙̣̗͍̬̜̈́͗͐͐̆̀͠ȳ̷̰̈́̐̀̈́̇̈́ ̶̱̻͈̘̘̝̤̬͔͛̈́̈́ͅơ̵͚͎͈̼̰̌̍̾̆͋͜n̸̘̮̘͖̩̮͇͌̄͝ȅ̵̼̱̑̉̿̈́͜͝͝ ̸̱͑̀́̈̒i̷̢̢̬̜̟͎͈̗̼͓͌́̿̋ǹ̸̼͖͇͔̋͐͐͆͂̿͠ ̷̳̻̯̟̲̼̯̮͕̰̿̉̄͋̓̊́̕t̸̢̨̥͙̫͇̘̒͜h̵̡̛͓͔̖̭̯͗͌̓̄͐ȩ̴̡͙̥͑͗̉̾̑̚ͅ ̸̛͍̟̜̳̼͇̮̩̟̭͛͋̈̑c̷̢̫̻̱̩̘̣̘̠̈́̈́̀͑͌̑͒ͅį̸̛͍͔͚͇͖͙̯̘̂͂̒̋̎̓͠ţ̷̞̘͔͐̓͗̍̈́̔̌̽̐͐y̶̻̦̦̤̟̝̹̮͙͌͊͂̓.̷̢̜̦̬͔̉H̵̡̢̛͚̭̲̞͎̜̺̳͌̊͛i̷̡̹̟̟̝̗̅́̋̌̕͘ͅḏ̷͛͐͑͂̀͛i̷̻͍͉͔͇͑̓̍͂̈́͝n̷͚̰̫̦͍͆̐ḡ̵̯̇ ̷̧̡̦̣̠̣͖̖͛͒̆̄̄h̶̫̠̓̔͒̃͆͘̕ḭ̴́͛̈́̅̊s̵̡̱̟͙͚͕̼͌͑̌́͐̓̎͠͝ ̴͍̺͔̬̥̰̻͈̙̻́t̴̢̨͈̮̻̻̥̐͌̅̀̆r̴̛͇̪̅̓̐͊̿̓̑̆̚ŭ̴̙̔̂ȇ̶̘͕̭̙͓̻̆̇̿̎͑ ̵̥̳̬͍͇͛̋̉̋̉͒͑p̷͖͚̤̟͙̝̺̉͒͛̋͘̕͝ŏ̶̮̜̥ẇ̸̺̠̠̼͕̳̣̓̏̈́̀͘͝e̶̛̩͈̺̮͔̝̤̜̊̓̎̔̃͂͝r̶͈̻͇̣̗̙̫̄́͗̽̓̚. ̴͎̜̝̪̱̼̗̣͛̅H̵̤̲̤̏͋̏̀̌̈͘e̸̢̢̢̧͉̪̫̯̅ļ̷̛̩̩̦̭̲̺̞͒͂͋͘ḋ̸̙̹̰̘̠͎͔͜ͅ ̷͎̭͎͇͈̽͒́͌̐̍̔̏b̸̛͍̞̟̼̫̥̝̘́̎͛̇̆͐̉ȁ̶̡͓͇̜̖̻̙͋̆̏̈̕͜͝ć̶̢̨̛̘̪͚̣̖̺̱͜k̴̗̝͉̓̍͊̑̾̐̾͠͝ ̶̜͐͒͑́̐̽̇͝͝à̷͈̥͚̀̑ģ̶̘͓͍̦͚̲̦̰͒̓̿̈͊͐̊̄̕å̴̳̗͎̙͈̻̬̊̈̊͆̓̇̎͂̕ỉ̷̧͓̝̝̽̃͋̆̚̕n̵̮̯͉̓͠ş̷̹̺͔͚͂̽́̆͒̉̀͘͜͠ͅt̵͖̱̗̳̟͇͙̔̎̎̀͊̋̊͒ ̸̘͎͕̔̓́L̶͉̱̇́̏̈̊̂̿͛͘͠u̷͔̠̞̯̻̙͍͔͛̅͋̊̈́̓́̀͘͝n̸̯̖̞̤͇̻̲͈̩̰̂̋̎̚g̶̩͕̻̳̻͙̞̬̞̔́͒͐̊͝͝ S̷̛̹̙̞͖̎͂̔͊͆̋́̎̇͜t̴̨̰̤̮̬̹̮̼͑̽͂̈́ṙ̴̡̡̰̘̦͙͔̈́͂̆͘o̸̢͈̤͈̫̭͖̅̒́̀͗̎͊̕͜n̶̡̥̦̫͖̤̾͆̔͋͌͝g̶̛͙̀͒͌́̏̇ ̶͙͈͍̓̅͂͛̇̊̈͘͝e̷̛̗͑̍̈́n̵̛̝̗͊͌̈́̔͛͋̃͝o̵̡̥̜͙̱̻͚͔͇͌͊͆̒̔ų̵̮̥́́̊̂ͅǵ̴̻͓̺̤̣̱͙͇̈́̀̈́͆ͅh̵͚̦͈̣̩͖͖̳̩͓̀̈͗̉̿͝͠ ̴̢̝̤̔͘ţ̸̝̥̻̼͕̈́̆́͗̿̂̓̂̕̕ͅȯ̸͇̗̥͇͔̬̉̈́͝ ̸̨͚̤̦̗͇̞́̅̈͐͝f̵̡̳̜̠̭̻͈̎͋́͊̌̈̊̇͌̏͜i̴͎͙̻͛͂͆͌g̵͇̮̪̬͔̀̿͐͊ͅͅh̶̛̤̬̘̩͒̈́̈̇̇͜ţ̴̯̓̒̆̒̎́͆̀ ̷̖̰̤͒͗͊̊́̍à̵͙̍͗̿́ͅǹ̸̨̥̲̮͉͎̪̦̯̾̆̀͛͋͘̚͝ͅ ̵̲͕͉̘͕̥͈̬͖̌̈͗͐̔̐̇̔͜Ẽ̴͔̤̕n̸̨̯̼̒̆̀d̷̩͗̔́b̶̥̈̕r̷̜̩̭̗̱̫̫̟͖̱̓̀͆̂̏͆ḯ̵̢̟̜̦͐͂̇͊̾̑ṋ̷̤̬̞̆ģ̷̢̩͎̫̻̩͆̔ȩ̸̙͔͔̪͈̻̇̽͌ͅr̴̲͚͎̖̋̿̈͑̂͝ͅ ̶͔̠̭̖̼̮̒̓̒́͆o̵̝̗͕̰̼̜̱͇̝͋͝n̵̬̬̉̃̕é̵̲̩͆̌͝ͅ ̴̖͙̟̳̋̾̇̀̏̏͆͘ơ̷̛̻͇̱͍̖͔̮̲̯̄̌̾͊͌͠n̴̜̪̩̙̐̀ ̴̢̗̫͍̝͒̐̎̄̈́̓̂̓̎o̷̧̺͖̜͍̬̼͜͝n̵̩͚̺͛́͋͂̈̏͠e̷͙̲̅͛́̓̆̀̕͘̕͠.̸̨̛͇̰̪̖̀͗̃̃́͘̚͠ ̷̹̺̤̣̤́̍̅̉͠C̴͉̠̠̼͇̖͉̈́ͅą̸͚͈̦̭̭̳͖̆͗̆̑̒͐̋̍n̸͓̣͙̎̅̽͊̐͋̕ ̴̲̄͂͠k̵̦͉͎̥̤̙̅͆̈́͐̇̈́̓̕͝͝í̴͉̝̤͆͒̋͝ḽ̷̙̥̰̞̱̩͎͑̓̍͠͝ͅl̷̹̠͆̆̾̿̐̂̊͗́͝ ̸̝̜̲̬̪̣̹̣̫̎ͅạ̷̓͛͝n̵̻̮̬̰̯̤͉̹̩̭͒͌̓ ̸̺̮͈͒̈Ê̴͙̿͐̚n̸̫̼̗̲̱̈́ͅd̵̠͉͍̫͔̉̍̌͐̉b̵̡̛̩̝̙̯̼̜̝͗̊́̇̽͝r̵̟̙̟̹̤̣͓̭͙̔̉͆̑͗̕̕i̵̲͒͝͝n̸̢̳̗̅̊g̷̢̮͙̗͚̙̳̝͉̓̄́̋̇̑͊ę̸̺͋͛͊̒͋̈́̃͑r̵̛̮̺̟͖͑͆̈́͒̉̓̇͝.̷̼̲̪̹̤̍ H̷͇̟͔̭̮̫̫̎́͊͜é̴̬̲͎͕̟̮̦̈́͌͌̀ ̶̨̽͑̾͆͂̾̀̓i̵̜͙̫̞̫̐̾̆̇̿̅̊s̶͚̗̝̤͉̝͔͉͙̾̈ ̶͔͈̭͔̭̼͚̺͗t̷͇̘́́̍̊͒̈́͝ͅh̶̼̽̈̑̐̓̅̏̚͝ë̷̢̺̳͈́̋͆͌̀͛̇͋͝ ̶̤͓͓̪͈̹̪͇̗̋͑̃̆̽̈́G̷̢̛͉̺̱̼̗̈́͛̑̄͋̚͝͝r̶̼̱̻̜̺̘̓̀͐͑̅͘͝ͅe̶̱͇͍̺͙͆̈́e̴͉͖͇̿̋̐̐̔̔͒̚k̴̨̲͖̫̦͎̦͎̰̀͗̉̄̿̃̈́̕̕͝ ̶̪̘̫͔̬͈̐̓̿͊̈́͗͌̎̕ͅH̷̡̞̞̏̎͆̈́̒͌̎͝e̸̖̳̅͑̿̅́̈́͘r̴̞͔̜̘̾̿̋̿̈́̈́͂õ̷͍̺̻͇͖̂̆̀̏̂,̴͙͈́͂̅ ̴͚̖͒̊̿͋̂̀̍̚͘͝A̸̧͕̼̮̣̪̳̯̓̾̏͛̋̍̓̕̕͝ċ̵̡̪͖̝͇̌͋͗̈́h̵̤̗̲̗͎̲̹̭͊̓̓͘i̶̗̳͇̥̿̈̌̿͐̔̕ĺ̴͖͕̯͉̹̬͕͙̤͖ļ̸̙̺̱͉̓̕e̵̯̩̱̖̙͌̃̌̆s̵͉̘͊̈́ͅ.̵̩̯̝̘̺̮͆͑̌̉̆̃̃ ̵̘͇̋̓̌̈͌͝Ḧ̴̡͙͍̮̤̦́̽̎͆͝e̷̡̗̲̘͓͒ ̴̨̡̬̬̖̳̻̫̋̎̋̇̔͝͝h̷̟̻̝̭̃͑̃̀ą̷̮͖͙͕̞̬̠̰̳̀͊͒̈́͐͝ŝ̵̭̹͇̼͓͚̀̂̕͝ ̸̧̥̞̺̩̟̦̇̑͊̔̓̈́̒͋͠Į̸̰̲̯̤̜̦̐͌̌ͅń̵̰̦̫͑͌̆̚͜͝ͅv̷̡͙̥͇̫̺̄̈́͜i̸͍̭͕̜͂̈́̎̈́͒̅̈́ņ̷̧̫̱͚̳̹̬̒̍͆͘ç̸͎͈̟̽í̴̢͎̬̯̲̌̇̏́́̄̌͘͝b̵̟̭̪͎̮̉͂̏̉̎ì̵͕̹͓̫̥͚͈͇̑͛̊ͅl̵̝̤̲̠̻̤͈͕̮̐̐̃̐̚i̸̗̫̦͉͔̙̥̍̄̽t̷̙̼͉͎̥̮͇̟̰͕͛y̶̢̞̒̀̇̒͂͌̓̿͑͝ ̶͎̯̖͇̪̳̠̍̆̉̒̇̐͘͠ą̷͍̦͙̤̿̈́͛ñ̷̩̣̽͊͝d̴̡̂̓͠ ̶͕̼͈̱͆͑̐̓̔͗́͌̊̓c̶̘̝̦͕̯͎̫͕̆͂̌͝ͅa̵̛̖̮͖̖̫͗́́͗͘n̵͇̣̻̮͠n̷͔̰̖̙̩̭̙̱̅̔ỏ̶̫̿̃̐̏͘ţ̴͖͖̥̲̝́̈͐̕ͅ ̶̬̝̺͌̅͝ͅb̵͇̭̺̈͊̈́̌ḛ̴̳̻͍̖̜̒́̍̄̎̍̽̃̈́͝ ̶̛̱͕̻̯̖̮̲̎̅̇̀ͅk̵̡̉͌͐̈́̑͝i̷̮̲͕̼̟̫̞͚̳͆͑̈́͋͊̓̈́l̶̞̜̭̈́́̔̓͂̽̔͠l̴̲̝̋e̶̢̧̯̜͙̾d̴̜̩̊̾̔͂̏͑̒̇͋̍.̶̙̭̥̟̰̈́̎͑ ̸̠̗̌̒͌̊̿͜͝Y̸̪͉͓̞͔̻̼̑o̴͇͚͔̗̥̓̈͜ù̶͍̮̗ ̷̡̘͉̳̖̙͎͔̇̄͝w̷̢̥̙̺͙̩͌i̴̛̩͖͓͖͓̭̙͊̾͝l̵̳̦̇l̷̻̲͚̥͛̚ ̵̨͙͉̫̜̹̦̪͙͂̐͗̓͌́̚d̷̛̞̻̹͑̈i̷̼͇̪̤̤̬̯̭͑̈́͗̐͌ë̵̞́͐̇̕.̸̯͎͇̒̏̈́̃͊̏͝ ̴̡̤͓͑̀̊ͅH̸̢̢̢̛̞͖̯̯̼͕̩̄̐̓̀͑̍̎ę̷̛̛̟̻͇͕͙̳̅̃͊̊̕ ̷̧̖̗̠̠̺̿͗̇̌͊͋̎̈́͜͝c̸͖̀̀̎͗̑̓͜͝͝ḁ̴̠̫͉̥̤̖̻̲̽̋̏͝͝n̸̪̮̠̈́͊̈́̾͋̔̄̽̅ ̵͙̃̿͗̓̾̏̉͘͠o̶̡͕̖̍̐̀̽̃͊͑̎́̂b̷̭̄̏l̶̨̼̞̗̣͗̋̅̎̔̑̕ī̶̟̱̲̲͈͕̞͋͑̉̓ţ̴̥̰͍̭̎̎̚͘͘͝ę̴̣̮͙͐̓͑̆́͝r̵̞̀̅̈́̏̾̅͘a̴̺͎̰̍̊t̶̡̖̺͆́̊̈́͒ȇ̷̼̃ ̴̡̩̺̞̹̰̹̱̀̒͑̊̐̌̽͝͝y̶̠̽̈́̐͘͝ơ̵̦̎̔̿̀͛͗͂̐͌ư̴̟̣͓̯̥̝̙̫͓̦͒͌͗̀͝ ̵̛̱̼̔͐̎̀͘͘ḯ̸̢̡͙̟̣̲̺̠͚͚̋̋͝n̶̞̽̐͛͜ ̴̼̳̦͎͕̹̞͜͜͝a̸̭̞̲͛̅͛̈͐̀̑̚̚͝ͅ ̷̼͔̱̰̞̏͛̀̈́͊̏s̸͉̥̝̞͖̍͛̄i̷̧̛͎̳͍̱͖̱͉̽̾͛̀͋̓̇̌ͅn̸̨̘̻̈́̎̚͜ǵ̷̥̙̤̠̪͓̊̋l̴̨͔̱͖͍̫͎̥̂͂͜e̴̼̮̺̪̩̼̋̓̉̽ ̵̡̤̳̲͈̱͈̦͎̅͘b̶̨̤̗̣̠͉̦͉͌͊̆̋̚̚͜ļ̴̼̣̻̯͗̀̀̾̈́͘͜ͅͅo̵̟̳̙̜̗͒ͅw̴̧̙̦̋͌͋̿̒̏͘.̸̧̛̞̦̏̿̋ ̶̬͙̯͍̬͋́̈́̓̄̿Y̶̟͕̲̔̄̂͛̂͐͘͝o̸̢̜͔͍̩̦̯̳̳͛̇͆̔͋̓͘ů̷̡̱̹̗̹̯͈͍̝̥ ̴͙̟̤̬̎̽͂̃̎̈́͘̕ẇ̶̠̪̦̮̟̹̱͈̜̓̐́͑̄̓̕̕ͅį̶̦̖͔̖̟̭͍͖̞̔̏ĺ̸̢̪̹̤̰̤̤͒̾̔̄͋͋̓̏ͅͅl̴̢̧̞͍̼̳̝͓͈͎̍̉̒̒ ̶̭͓͈͉͚͎̞̞̼̙͒̈́͛̈d̷̢͔̪̋̉̀̈́͗̀͆į̵̝̮̩̐̍̋̈͂̏̚ȩ̴̘̣͇͕̤̼͒͌͝͝͠.̷̢̦̹͈̠̈́̍̏͆̅̇̆̍̈͝

As I used my power a massive headache exploded through my head. I winced slightly before quickly putting my previous expression on. I forcibly cut my power off and I looked at the Bug Girl as she asked a question.

Taylor's POV

"...Who are you?" I finally asked. "I don't recognize your costume, and you don't look like you're part of any of the major gangs."

"I could say the same about you. After all, that black bodysuit and insect mask looks pretty villainous." The girl pointed out with a playful tone.

I scowled, so what if my costume looked weird? It was practical and the best thing I made at the time(albeit it could've been better with more time, being honest with herself. Not that she would ever tell thegirl that).

"You know the costume looks more villainous than weird, don't lie." The girl smirked, with the most smug tone of voice I have ever heard in my life. "And to answer your earlier question, I am Tattletale, member of the Undersiders and mind reader extraordinaire."

The Undersiders… I recalled the name, very vaguely. They were more known for their escapes than actual crimes. Not big like the E88 or ABB, but still villains either way.

"As I previously said, I came here to thank the knight over here for knocking Lung out for us. You really did a number on him by the way." The gi-Tattletale went over to Lung and lightly kicked his body, making him groan in pain.

"I mean, a broken leg, a broken nose, a concussion, and torn muscles all over his body." she said with a grimace, looking at Rider who just looked at her with a cool look on his face. "A little overkill, but understandable. This is Lung, after all." She continued, looking down at the downed body of Lung before moving away.

As she backed off, Lung started stirring in pain on the blood-soaked floor, his wounds healing. As he slowly started undoing the damage done to his body, Rider propped me up against the wall as he walked over the now waking Lung.

"Geez, man." Rider said, summoning hisodd spear. "You know how rude it is to interrupt our conversation? Kinda disrespectful, to be honest with ya." He walked over to Lung's body, spear poised to strike.

And strike Rider did. I winced as he slammed the blunt end of the spear into Lung's face, creating an even bigger crater in the ground below his body. Rider dematerialized his spear and checked Lung to make sure he was truly unconscious.

"How hard did you hit him? You made a crater under his body!" Tattletale questioned with a slightly disturbed expression.

"Eh, not too hard. I just gave him a lil love tap." Rider said with a calm look on his face. "Honestly, if he can live with broken bones, he'll be fine." He tapped Lung's body with his spear, the man unmoving from the hit to his head. I looked from Rider to Tattletale as she took some tentative steps away from Rider and Lung.

"Good God."I heard her muttering. "Well, I'm going to get out of here before I see you accidentallyhit him too hard."

As she said that she backed off the ledge. In the dark of the night, I could hear the sound of bellow of an unknown beast, and the hum of something big jump into the air, particles of gravel on the roof blowing off the roof from the force of its momentum.

"Well, that was something." Rider said after a brief moment. "Not a bad night, all things considered. Although it could have gone better." He said, pointedly looking at the open burn wound on my leg.

As I shifted my gaze inembarrassment I distracted myself by examining Lungs body. His right leg had a large hole from where Rider's spear pierced through, a puddle of blood underneath his body. His left leg was like a badly done pretzel, bent in ways it shouldn't have been in. He had various cuts and abrasions on his now scale-less torso along with a large purple bruise on his forehead where his spear hit. His breathing was labored due to the amount of pain he was in from his fight with Rider. After I finished looking at Lung's injuries, I was unsure whether he would still be okay by the end of the night. I didn't want him dead, villain or not.

"...You sure he'll be okay?"I mumbled.

"Yeah, probably." Rider made a 'so so' gesture with his hand. "I made sure not to hit him too hard on the head. I would've hurt him more, but I didn't want to in case I killed him. If I hit him harder than I did, then I'd be pushing my luck."

I agreed a little bit. Lung was known for his regeneration factor, after all. It was what made him fight Leviathan back in Kyushu and stand toe to toe with it years ago. Anyone who wanted to defeat him had to counter his healing somehow.

I still felt guilt eating away at me as I stared at Lung's prone body.

"Huh, looks like someone's arrived."

Looking up from my deliberation, I struggled to hear a rumble of an engine through my bugs, a single headlight shining towards us. Discreetly, I ordered as many bugs as possible to hide in the darkness, ready to attack if the person was hostile.

\--

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.4

Achilles' POV

As Armsmaster approached on his motorcycle I was thinking. How I was going to bypass his lie detector? As he parked his bike, I slowly approached him. He had dark blue body armor with white highlights and a V shaped visor covering the top half of his face. His lower jaw was exposed, showing his trimmed beard covering his jawline. He took out his weapon, a halberd with various upgrades attached into it.

"You gonna fight me?" He said out loud.

"Nah, me and the kid over here are good guys. We beat and knocked out Lung." I replied, gesturing towards myself and Taylor. Staying still for a moment, he then tore his gaze away from myself to Taylor. When she realized she was being looked at by him, she looked in a different direction. As she was looking away, Armsmaster shot multiple tranquilizer darts in his body before turning towards back towards us.

Moving closer to me, he inquired, "You look like a hero with your armor." He pointed at Taylor "She looks like a villain."

I couldn't see through Taylor's mask, but I had a feeling she was grimacing in embarrassment right now. Being called a villain by another villain was fine. But being called one by your favorite hero is a pretty embarassing comment.

"It...wasn't intentional," Taylor responded, looking much more defensive than she needed to be. "I was halfway done when I saw that it looked darker than I intended it to be and I couldn't change it back."

I looked at Armsmaster as he was still not moving, probably checking if she was lying or not.

Taylor's POV

"You're telling the truth." Armsmaster said. He said it with such sureness that I was surprised by it. I wanted to ask how he knew, but I held back my curiosity. Rider was standing off to the side, watching all of this unfolding before him.

He moved towards me looking me over as my hand hovered over the gash on my leg, he asked, "You need a hospital?"

"Yeah," I said, flinching when I poked my wound. "But I'll be able to deal with it for now." My leg was bleeding less, although I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

"Both of you are new capes," he said, looking at the both of us. Rider started moving towards us.

"You can call me Rider." He walked back to where he was earlier, staring off into the distance. Armsmaster stared at him for a bit before looking back at me.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss…?"

I started mentally panicking. I hadn't come up with a name yet and I was drawing up so many blanks.

"I don't have a-... I haven't chosen a name yet…"

I wanted to curl up and sit in a corner. I was so embarrassed with how I was acting! I had fought Lung and survived, but I can't even have a conversation with another hero! Like I wasshy! As I was lamenting my awkwardness I heard an appealing suggestion from Rider.

"What about Weaver?" Rider asked. As I looked at him, I pondered the name in my head.

"Weaver, huh?" Weaver sounded kinda heroic and I'm pretty sure it wasn't taken. I turned towards Armsmaster and nodded.

"Alright, so Weaver and Rider taking credit as Independents or a Team?" He asked, staring at the both of us.

"A team?" It suddenly clicked in my head. Two capes fighting together against a villain? Most people would assume that they were on a team, even if they hadn't appeared in the same theme. "We're not a-"

"Eh, sure. We're on a team" Rider interrupted nonchalantly, glancing over to me. "I mean, if you're up it."

I thought it over for a long moment. It was a good idea. The only heroic teams in Brockton Bay were the Wards which I wasn't sure I wanted to join and New Wave, an independentfamilyteam. I didn't want to deal with that, due to the fact that you had to have a public identity. I also didn't want to deal withthat can of worms.

"Wow Taylor, you're so smart! Unmasking to the whole city as a parahuman while you haven't even told your dad yet"I sarcastically thought to myself.

That really left me with either being an Independent or be on a team with Rider. We fought and beatLung(honestly in my opinion Rider could have beat Lung by himself). At the very least, I would have someone watching my back.

"Yeah," I eventually agreed, "We're an independent team."

"I see," Armsmaster nodded, "In this case, I won't bother you with a Wards and Protectorate recruitment pitch. Nonetheless, as long as you keep a heroic disposition, the PRT will be willing to provide assistance whenever possible. If you sign up as an official Independent team, than anyone on the team can claim bounties for the team, among other things."

"Alright, I'll make sure to do all of that." Rider agreed, giving a nod.

"Very well then." Armsmaster inclined his head politely. First to Rider, then to myself. He continued, "Anyways, I already have him tranquilized on the sidewalk. I'd prefer to have Lung in prison before he wakes up."

With a light rumble, his motorcycle started up and his headlight turned on, lighting the way ahead of him. Small hooks extended by some metal chains popped out onto a retractable passenger seat.

"I have something to say to the both of you."

We turned towards Armsmaster as he clipped Lung onto his motorcycle.

"You both did amazing work, but people won't take this lightly. Captures like this are easy to earn the target of some unsavory enemies; especially with how new you both are, and most people are not going to hesitate to murder you."

"Both of you have a good evening." Was the last thing he said as he mounted his bike and sped off into the night. Leaving Rider and I alone on the empty night street. I turned towards him as he started to speak.

Achilles' POV

"Hey kid." I called out as stretched my arms. "You want me to drop you off at the nearest hospital?"

Taylor looked at me for an awkward period of time. "Sure, drop me off at Brockton Bay General."

I looked at her and said, "You might want to stand back."

With that said, I put two fingers in my mouth and whistled. Immediately my chariot Troias Tragōidia pulled up on the street, horses neighing. If Taylor's mask was off, she would probably have a slack jawed expression.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." I said as I gestured her to get on the platform. As she stepped on, the chariot slowly moved forward and rose into the air, leaving a trail of green energy behind us. Thankfully, I got some information on where the hospital was at, along with the fastest route possible.


	5. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-P (PHO Interlude)

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.I

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Topic: Strange Light in the Sky

In: Boards USA Brockton Bay Strange Occurences

Brocktonite03(Original Poster) (Veteran Member)

Posted On Apr 11th 2011:

Tonight, I saw something strange.

I was on the top of my roof when I saw a trail of green light going towards somewhere in Brockton Bay. I have no idea what that green light was, but at first I thought it was a meteor. But then it rose from downtown and started going towards another area. Specifically, the place where Brockton Bay General is. And considering this city is filled to the brim with capes, I have a nagging feeling it's probably a new cape using their new powers or something.

In fact, I even took a picture as it went above my house.

(Showing page 1 of 4)

ArchmageEin

Replied On Apr 11th 2011:

Uh, that's cool and all, but...

Why were you on your roof?

Especially in the middle of the night?!

AllSeeingEye

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Oh?

How interesting...

All I'm going to say is... that is NOT a meteor.

Clockblocker(Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Woah, what the heck?

I know it looks like a meteor and I think I might be hallucinating, but is that a CHARIOT?

Guys, you have to see this!

TELL me THAT is not a Chariot in the sky.

This looks awesome!

Vista Gallant Aegis

XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Wow, I can see it too. It is a chariot!

I'm not insane, it really is one!

Vista(Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

XxVoid_CowboyxXHonestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you were insane.

That does NOT look like a chariot, that looks like a small meteor.

Are you alright,Clockblocker?

Aegis(Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

I can see the resemblance.

At the same time however, how does that resemble a chariot at all?

Your sense of sight must be messed up or something.

Clockblocker

Gallant(Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

I don't know why you had to show me this.Clockblocker

Also, that is NOT a chariot.

It looks like a green meteor or small comet.

What's next?

Are you going to say that there are horses driving the thing too?

XxVoid_CowboyxX

Clockblocker(Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

It was just a joke guys, chill out...

Also, I can't believe you were gullible enough to actually think it was a chariot,

XxVoid_CowboyxX

AllSeeingEye

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

If you want to find out what it ACTUALLY is, just ask me. After all, I have information on EVERYTHING

End of Page. 1,2,3,4

Topic: Strange Light in the Sky

In: Boards USA Brockton Bay Strange Occurences

Brocktonite03(Original Poster) (Veteran Member)

Posted On Apr 11th 2011:

Tonight I saw something strange.

I was on the top of my roof when I saw a trail of green light going towards Brockton Bay General Hospital. I have no idea what that green light was, but at first I thought it was a meteor. But it rose from part of the city and started going towards another area. Specifically, the place where Brockton Bay General is. And considering this is Brockton Bay, I have a nagging feeling it's a new cape using their new powers or something.

In fact, I even took a picture as it went above my house.

(Showing page 3 of 4)

Chaosfaith

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

This actually looks really cool.

Since this is Brockton Bay, its probably a cape.

Then again, I'm not a cape so how would I know what they do?

Lasersmile

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

Judging by the picture, its probably a new cape testing his powers.

It could just be a regular ole meteor.

Or I could be second guessing myself forever. Who knows?

GstringGirl

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

That looks soooo pretty, wish I was able to see that in person.

It looks like a green beam of light energy piercing through the night sky...

AverageAlexandros(Cape Husband)

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

This looks like a meteor, but powers have been known to vary.

What if this was a cape or something?

Thatdude

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

AverageAlexandros

That would make sense.

But why take shape in the form of a meteor, in that case?

Why not be a regular human?

Tin Mother(Moderator)

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

Please don't discuss unknown capes and powers in this forum.

There is a separate forum where you can discuss about certain capes and their unknown powershere.

XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

I'm telling you all!

Its a freaking chariot!

Not a meteor!

Seriously, why is everyone calling me insane?!

Chilldrizzle

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

XxVoid_CowboyxX

Everyone's calling you 'crazy' because you keep saying that the meteor is a 'chariot', which makes no sense at all!

There's no evidence to prove that it actually is a chariot.

We only have the single picture that the original poster took and even then, it looks like a regular albeit green meteor.

Tumbles

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

I agree with Chilldrizzle

Please don't try to make assumptions without any good evidence first.

It just makes you look insane in the forum and people will get aggravated by your posts.

At least have some evidence before making a claim,XxVoid_CowboyxX

End of Page.1,2, 3


	6. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-5

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.5

Taylor's POV

April 11, 2011

1:25 A.M

BGM: Thoughts Flows On; Fate Apocrypha OST

I thought the rest of the night couldn't get any more crazy. First, I fight Lung. Then, I almost die to be saved by Rider, who proceeds to beat and knock out said person who almost kills me. Immediately afterwards, we meet a villain and a hero immediately after. And to top it all off, I was now part of a hero team and starting my journey!

I had thought Rider would have a car to drive to BB General with. I was proved wrong when he whistled and summoned a chariot with real horses! I thought I was going delirious from all my blood exiting my leg wound. I considered slapping myself in the face to see if this was real. It was only when I stepped on the silver platform that I realized this was real and that he had actually summoned a chariot.

_"How is this even flying? The horses don't even have wings! And it just speeds through the sky…"_ I was pondering how this was even possible as I looked over the city. Rider asked me a question that brought me out of my thoughts.

"What makes a good hero?" He asked me as he was guiding the chariot through the dark sky, covering the air behind us in a green energy before it slowly faded away.

I was trying to think of an answer, but I couldn't formulate a response. What does make a hero? I was initially going to say their costume and power, but I held back my response. That was the most basic and normal answer someone could give. I wanted to make a good impression on him. After some deliberation, I came up with a hopefully good response.

"Their actions." I finally answered, as he looked at me with a questioning look.

"A good hero is made by their actions, whether it be when they go out to patrol for villains or when they do things out of costume," I continued, the words I spoke giving me confidence.

"The actions they commit are what makes someone a true hero." As I finished, I saw Rider giving me an expression I couldn't place.

"Well, you're not wrong. But, there is more to a hero than just their actions." He elaborated with conviction and certainty that confused me.

"You said a hero is made by their actions, yes?" I nodded and he explained further, "But, what drives their actions? Is it for money, a sense of completion, or something else?" When he completed that sentence, it clicked in my head.

"Purpose," As I figured it out, he looked at me with a knowing grin. "A true hero is a person who fights not just to save people, but also for their beliefs." It all made sense now. He had wanted to know why I wanted to become a hero in the first place.

"You're correct!" He declared with a proud look. "However, there is a deeper meaning to this." He carried on with his explanation, his amber eyes like yellow embers in a hot flame.

"It's not just their belief that heroes fight for." He stated, his face gaining a resolute look.

He gave a look I couldn't discern and bellowed with mirth, "They fight for their purpose, as it allows them to grow past their limits and become stronger. As both a hero and a person."

"They fight for their ideals, enduring hardships to protect them." He declared with enthusiastic fervor.

"As heroes are not made of force, but made by their will." He proclaimed, his voice becoming even louder than before. The cool wind of the midnight sky only added to his proclamation. His stance was full of such confidence and glowing positivity that had me fully enraptured in his speech.

"That is what makes a true hero!" He finished his speech, his tone calming down and his posture becoming relaxed. His vibrant amber eyes made me unnerved as he looked at me with a curious expression.

"And I ask of you, Weaver, what is your purpose?" He asked before fully putting his attention to guiding his chariot.

As soon as he finished, I began to think. Why did I become a hero? Originally, I became a hero because of the Trio, wanting to bebetterthan them. But, was that really my purpose? Just to be better than them and because I wanted to prove to myself that I would never go to their level? Yes, I guess it was. Even though it's not an amazing purpose, it's still mine and I'm fine with that. It was why I decided to be a hero, after all. As I finished that train of thought, I went back to what he said earlier.

During our talk about heroes, I began to see him in a different light. Earlier, I saw him as the cape who saved me from a tragic end. Now, I see him as a reliable teammate who I would look up to. A person I would strive to become in the future. A hero as inspiring and strong as him, upholding my own ideals.

In my deliberation on the earlier topic, we reached Brockton Bay General. The chariot descended from the sky and pulled to a stop in the middle of the parking lot. As we stepped off our ride, the silver chariot and the threehorses that made it fly into the air drove off into the distance. The chariot leaving a trail of minty green light along the road it went down.

We went towards the hospital and I could see a couple of people standing at the entrance.

"Hey!" Rider called out, getting their attention. "Is Panacea here right now?"

One of them, a nurse, looked at us and said, "Yes, Panacea is still here. She's taking a night shift right now." She pointed towards a staircase, "She's on the second floor in room S12. You can find her there."

Walking into the building, we walked out way over to room S12. We entered to the sight of Panacea sleeping on a chair. She had dark bags under her eyes and a small dribble of saliva dripped down the side of her mouth, onto the front of her white robe. Gazing at Rider, I saw a disappointed look on his face. Shaking his head, he walked up to where she was sleeping and gently shook her shoulder. She stirred for a moment before she slowly opened her eyes.

"Huh, what's going on…" She looked at Rider and for she paused for a moment, then looked at me. She looked at my leg and her mouth formed an 'o'. She stood up from her chair and walked over to me.

"Can you take your glove off?" I was so surprised by her question and was going to refuse before she explained, "My power needs to have skin contact in order to heal you." Well, that explained it. Before I took my glove off she asked me an odd question, "Do I have permission to heal you?" What? Why do you need to ask someone if you wanted to heal them? That makes no sense at all! What kind of person would refuse healing when they're injured?! As I cleared my thoughts of that ridiculous question, I nodded my head and took my right glove off.

I saw strange red markings on the back of my hand. They looked odd and I had never seen this symbol before. How did I get these on my hand? As I pondered how these got here, she was telling me all the injuries I had.

"You have a 2nd degree burn wound on your right leg along with a large laceration that extends from the knee to your hip. You also have some cuts and small bruises, but I'll be able to heal all of these as well as your other injuries too." As she finished her sentence, I felt astonishment I saw my gash disappear and the burn vanish from my leg. It was as if I had never fought Lung in the first place. As I was looking over my leg with a sense of awe she put her hand on my shoulder, getting my attention.

"Would you like me to heal your eyes? I noticed your eyesight while I was healing your other injuries and I can heal them if you want me to." After she said that, I nodded. It would be pretty convenient to have regular eyesight instead of wearing my glasses. When she healed my eyes, my vision was clearer and the room looked less dull. She let go of my hand and when she went to walk out of the room, I called out to her.

"Thank you. I really appreciate what you did." I expressed with true sincerity. Since she was facing away from me, I couldn't see her face. She did stand still before she left though.

After she left, Rider came up to me with a complicated expression.

"We need to talk." He said to me before whispering, "Hopefully in a place where no one can hear us." Confused, I reluctantly agreed.

We walked out of the hospital and looked around for a moment until we found an empty alleyway. After we walked in, he turned around with a frown on his face.

"So you saw the command seals, huh?" He said, one of his eyebrows raised. Wait, what are command seals? Is he talking about the marks on the back of my hand?

"How do you know that?" I asked, confusion apparent in my tone. He looked away for a brief moment, his posture alert before turning back to me.

"Alright, I'll tell you." He responded. "But don't tell anyone about this, alright? This stays between you and me. This is gonna take a bit to explain, too." I nodded and he started to explain why I had the red tattoo on the back of my hand.


	7. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-6

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.6

Taylors POV

April 11, 2011

1:55 A.M.

_BGM: Familiar Melody; Fate Grand Order_

"Alright, what do you want me to explain first?" Rider asked with a questioning expression. I had many questions, but I reiterated the one that was really aggravating me.

"What are command seals? You talked about them as if you knew what they were?" I took off my glove and saw the symbol was still there, mocking me with it's anonymity. I showed them to him and he had a conflicted expression adorned with a small frown. He shook his head and stared at me.

"Command seals allow someone to give 3 absolute orders to a being such as myself." He elaborated. Absolute orders?Huh, that's pretty coo-wait, a being such as himself? What? How do these command seals have anything to do with him? And how does he know about them? Gah! There's too many things that I don't understand!

"What do you mean by a being such as yourself? Are saying you aren't human? If not, then who or what are you? Wait, are truly a real person or not?" I asked, already confused with the answers he gave me. He looks like a regular human and he doesn't have any case 53 features, so how could he be not human?

"Nowthatis the correct question to ask and one I will answer." He stated with enthusiasm. "Essentially, I am a reincarnation of a hero from the past in the form of a projection. A familiar. Or if you prefer, aHeroic Spirit." I swear I heard him say heroic spirit with capitalized letters. I started to worry that my new teammate was crazier than I thought he was.

"And yes, I am real. As real as this alleyway, the streetlamp nearby, the costume you're wearing, and the fact that I am in front of you and talking is proof that I am real." He stated with utmost confidence.

"You're a real dead person, who is alive?" I asked sceptically. A drawn out sigh left Rider's mouth as he stated at me.

"I see you don't believe me, so just please listen to what I say until I finish explaining." He said. Hesitantly, I nodded and readied myself for what I was going to listen to.

"Yes, I lived as a human a long time ago. I have memories that are extremely detailed and I can easily recall them as if they happened hours ago. Even then, I have not 'come back alive'. I am like the embodiment of a legend that surrounds this individual, not the actual individual himself." I had a feeling Rider was hiding something else, but I didn't bother asking right now.

"I was summoned here due to a certain ritual activating when you were about to die to Lung. And besides using the words, someone needs to have certain energy to make it happen, something you don't have. There also needs to be a system in place as well. You summoned me with not your power, but withmagic." He stated with utter seriousness. Okay. He's crazy. Absolutely nuts. Rider looked at me and let out a low growl.

"I am NOT lying!" He exclaimed as he slammed his fist against the wall, making a fist sized hole and shaking the building. I jumped at the impact and he slowly calmed himself.

"Alright, let's think about this." he declared after a moment of silence. "If I were a projection based from your power, which is controlling bugs, then I would do anything you say, right?" he asked. I nodded, unsure of where this was going. He crossed his arms and sat down, "Then go, command me to do something, Summoner." He said mockingly. His voice stung me with guilt.

"Walk over here and stand next to me." I said with as much authority as I could muster. He sat there and smiled.

"No, I won't." He said triumphantly. I was concerned. If I summoned him but couldn't control him, then that meant he was doing things for the last hour or so because he wanted to. I blocked out the dark feeling I felt as Rider was talking still.

"So, you can see that I don't have to obey all of your commands. A Heroic Spirit is too strong to be commanded by an ordinary human, even a Summoner such as yourself." Summoner? Me?

"Remember what I said about the command seals?" I nodded. The three absolute orders. Wait, did that mean… "They allow you to give me three commands that I have to carry out, regardless of whether I want to do them or not." He had a mind of his own, but I could command him to do things whenever I wanted? Mind control.I shivered at the thought of someone being able to control me at any time. I broke out of my thoughts.

"So I can use these on you?"Why did I say that?!I want to kick myself right now. Rider's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, you can use them on me. However, there are better uses than just commanding me to do something." I looked at him, curiosity evident.

"With a command seal, you canempower attacks that I perform, making them even stronger." My eyes widened. He was already really strong and powerful, what would happen if he was even stronger? I imagined an empowered Rider running up to Leviathan and stabbing its tail, killing it instantly. I shook my head ruefully, as if an Endbringer would die.

"Another use of a command seal is toinstantly teleport me to you. Since I normally can't teleport, you can use this if you need help or get ambushed. You can call without a seal too, but it would take me longer to reach you." Hmm, so I could burn one out of three commands to summon Rider to me if he was somewhere else. These seals are really have really good utilitizations. Wait a minute...

"Call without a seal? How would I be able to do that?" I asked incredulously. He looked at me with a small smirk.

_"Like this, Summoner."_ His voice echoing throughout my head.

"AHHH! Did you just read my mind?!" I yelled. Rider was chuckling at my reaction, doubled over with both his hands covering his mouth. "Just answer me!" I exclaimed. He finally stopped laughing after a moment.

"To answer your question, no, I did not read your mind. There is a link between us that lets us communicate with each other. If you can concentrate you'll be able to sense it. The link is used for me if I happen to get injured. You can use it to send messages. Try it." he said. I concentrated and tried to send my thoughts to him. I attempted it multiple times before I gave up and looked at him questioningly. "Hmm, that didn't work so… Oh! What was going through your head when you summoned me for the first time?"

I didn't want to think back to earlier. I saw it anyways. The memories of my burnt leg, all of my bugs getting burned down to ash, Lung hunched over my body and ready to kill me. I recalled something else. The shield. I turned my thoughts towards that amazing shield, it's silver plating shining through my dark thoughts. Like before, it started glowing with a bright light. It was enough and light flared through my costume, into the alleyway.

With a surprised expression, Rider looked at me with a small grin.

I could barely see an orange line of light connecting myself to him. Excited, I tried to send an experimental thought to him.

_"HELLO? IS THIS WORKING!" _I mentally shouted. He grimaced slightly.

_"Summoner, I can hear you. No need to yell so loud." _he replied. I could feel the energy, the magic that Rider talked about, fluidly moving towards him and keeping him connected to myself. I slowly started to believe he may have been right. He really was knowledgeable about this topic.

"Hey Rider, have you been summoned before?" I asked. He nodded absently.

"Once. To take part in a certain secret ritual. And this is the second time I've been summoned." He said.

"What's the ritual?" I asked curiously. His gaze sharpened.

"I would rather not talk about that, Summoner. The things that happened in that ritual were unfortunate. And I hope I never participate in something like that ever again." He responded quickly. I nodded, filing that for later.

"So.. if you are actually a legendary hero, who are you? Is it someone I know?" I jokingly asked. His amused grin was evident in the dark alleyway, his sharp white teeth easily visible.

"Eh, I don't know. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. I won't tell you, for now at least." He replied in a teasing tone as my jaw went slack. "And unless I'm wrong, you'll find out very soon." He casually said, looking too amused for my liking. I swiped at him.

"Just tell meeeeee!" I moaned. He convulsed with laughter and kept dodging my assault. If someone were to stumble upon us, they would assume we were capes and that we were having a showdown in the middle of the alleyway. We calmed down after a couple of moments and I finally noticed how late it was.

"Oh shoot, I have school today!" I started panicking, thinking of how I was going to go back home in time. Rider put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey kid don't worry, I can get you home in no time." I heard him whistle and the chariot appeared in a flash of green light.

_"I'm never going to get used to that."_ I thought as I stepped on the silver platform. In a few moments, it quickly flew up into the air andmoved.

One moment, we were above the alleyway and the next, we were above the neighborhood near my house. As we landed a few houses away, we got off. I then realized something.

"Wait, where are you going to go? You can't go in my house because my Dad is there!" I asked. Rider just hummed before turning almost transparent.

"Oh, did forget to mention I can switch between an ethereal body and my regular one?" He asked with a cheeky tone that annoyed me.

"Yes, you did forget to tell me. I'm too tired to be mad at you right now, though. I'll do that when I wake up in the morning." I walked through the front door and went into the garage. I went down to the coal chute, hiding my costume and grabbing a spare set of clothes I kept hidden. I walked upstairs and moving through the corridor, I passed Dad's room. I opened the door and hobbled into my room. I went to my bed and immediately collapsed on it. My final thoughts before sleep encapsulated me were of Rider's earlier words.

_"Eh, I don't know. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. I won't tell you, for now at least. And unless I'm wrong, you'll find out very soon."_


	8. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-7

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.7

Achilles' POV

April 11, 2011

5:45 A.M

I stood in the living room of the Hebert household, a silent guardian hidden in the darkness. I was bored out of my damn mind. It wasn't like people would attack the house randomly but one could never be too cautious, especially in Brockton Bay.

By now people would have probably posted something on PHO that correlated to myself. I wasn't stupid enough to think that at least one person hadn't seen my chariot, or at least the bright trail of green energy in the dark sky. And if Armsmaster kept his word, then we would be gaining attention very soon. People would be on the hunt, to either recruit or kill Taylor and I. I would be ready when they came. Nothing would befall her.

Checking in on my Summoner, I saw that she was still asleep. Good. I made my way out of the house and searched for a private location where I could test a theory. In a moment, I found the perfect place. A small, open area with tall tufts of grass surrounding a large tree. After I made sure no one was nearby, I went out of spirit form.

Concentrating on my mana, I summoned Akhilleus Kosmos. The area around me brightened up as the Divine Construct appeared around my left forearm. The silver shield brought back good memories, when Patroclus and I had been talking about…

No.I furiously shook my head of those thoughts. I decided to move on, become stronger than I was back then. It hurt, but things were much different now. Thousands of years had passed. There was no reason for me to lament on the past when the future had presented many opportunities to show me. I would make the most of this opportunity while I had it. I was here for that reason. Clearing my thoughts, I prepared myself for what I was going to do in the first place.

Closing my eyes, I focused once more on the shield. In my mind, I saw words appear.ΔιαμάχηandΑρμονίαin Greek, or Strife and Harmony in English. The main things that Akhilleus Kosmos had represented in my life. The loss I felt had only pushed me forward, to change me to what I am now. I hadn't known how Hephaestus forged it, but this shield was the strongest Noble Phantasm I owned. It was what allowed me to defeatHector, even in my rage.

The wielder must understand strife and harmony… full potential unlocked.

The noise it made was extremely nostalgic for me. I slowly exhaled as the shield had recognized me as it's owner. I thought I wouldn't be able to use it because of my alternate memories. I suppressed the shields' power again.

Akhilleus Kosmos had been hard to control back then. When I was training with it, it would be difficult for me to synchronize my attacks with the effects of shield, especially against an enemy. The Greek God of Smithing had really outdone himself in this regard.

Putting my right arm out in front of me, I summoned Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē. Angling it so the moonlight reflected of the base of the shaft, it truly looked like an ordinary spear. But I knew better. It was a gift from Chiron, my mentor. I thought of it as the greatest weapon I ever wielded. Crushing skulls? Sure. Piercing armor? Absolutely. Throwing it at a horde of sheep? Why not? Whenever I used it, it never failed me. Even after my death, it was my best offensively versatile weapon.

I stared at the tree with confidence. With Akhilleus Kosmos on my left and Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē on my right, I moved forward.

Taylor's POV

??:?? A.M

'Wait, where am I?' I thought as I looked around. I was in a black void. I struggled to move my body. I saw many colors moving around, eventually forming a small room around me. I examined the room and saw two people talking to each other, one I recognized as Rider and the other an unknown woman. He was wearing something that looked like a yoga with brown highlights. He also looked much younger, around 11 or 12 years old, and a foot or so shorter than the woman. The woman started to speak.

"War has been declared between **Troia** and **Achaea**." She said, looking at the young Rider with a solemn expression.

'Wait, those places sounds familiar.' I thought. 'Aren't they supposed to be…'

"Achilles, do you wish to live a long and peaceful life without having your name recognized by the masses? Or do you want to live a short life with brilliant accomplishments in battle?" She questioned.

'There's no **fucking way**. There's no literal **fucking way** this is **real**!' I mentally screeched in disbelief as Rider nodded almost immediately.

"The second, Mother. I would rather live a short life and be praised as a hero, than live a long and peaceful one as a nobody." He declared with certainty. He walked forward and gave the woman a tender hug, not seeing the heartbreaking smile on her tear-stricken yet proud face.

'Holy fucking shit, **whaaaaaaat**!' I cried internally.

Achilles' POV

6:10 A.M

Hidden Location

My spear made a diagonal cut on the tree, easily indenting a line onto it. I slowly started moving faster, creating multiple gashes that dug into the tree. I started thinking of all the accomplishments I held, the acts I had committed before. Eventually the force was too much, and the tree was completely gone. All the wood slashed into extremely small pieces, the leaves falling all around my still body.

"Patroclus…Everyone…" I whispered. "I will protect everyone I can. I promise on my pride as a hero." I gazed at Akhilleus Kosmos, the shield glowing with a vibrant and warm orange light.

"A hero to save my allies and smite my foes." I stated. Taking one last glance at Akhilleus Kosmos, I dismissed the Divine Construct. And with a swing of my arm, my spear sent out a small pressurized blast of wind that cleared the area of leaves. The sound echoing throughout the now treeless area.

Taylor's POV

An army of soldiers stood on the battlefield. Rider was at the front, wearing his gold armor and on his silver chariot driven by his horses. He stared towards the battlefield, ready to fight.

"Achilles is invincible! He was blessed by the Gods themselves!" I heard a voice proclaim.

"He is the fastest man alive! None are able to match his speed!" Another voice exclaimed.

"He is a prodigy in battle! His skill knows no bounds!"

"The man is the strongest hero since Herakles himself!"

"His spear is able to render bones asunder and crush skulls with ease!"

The declarations of the soldiers started to move around each other until I couldn't perceive a word they said. The images began to twist and turn, until I couldn't recognize what they looked like anymore.

I gasped as I woke up in a cold sweat. Slowly gathering my breath, I began to finally calm down. Then I remembered what Rider told me after I asked if I knew who he was.

_"Eh, I don't know. Maybe you do, maybe you don't."_ He nonchalantly answered. _"I won't tell you, for now at least."_ He continued with that annoying smirk on his face. _"And unless I'm wrong, you'll find out very soon."_

My teeth grinded together in burning anger and I growled at the nerve of his casual deflection of my question.

"That Fucking BASTARD!" I yelled out in frustration.


	9. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-8

Note: This chapter is the last one in the beginning arc of the story before an interlude. Also, the previous chapters were all ported from Sufficient Velocity, not done all at once.

Edit: I changed the a certain scene to flow better with the conversation.

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.8

_Achilles' POV_

_6:45 A.M_

_Taylor's House _

Making my way back to Taylor's house in my spirit form, I stopped at the side entrance. If I remembered correctly, then she would be going out for a run soon after talking with her dad. Curious, I searched deeper into my mind. I knew a plethora of information, like full descriptions of powers, general appearances of characters, and the main events that happened in Worm.

The main problem was I didn't know too much about the story. I mainly knew the setting and characters from reading fanfiction. I had skimmed through the story, not really having too much time to fully read it all. My other self hadn't picked anything regarding all this knowledge so how and why am I able to remember all this information? Did something already change drastically in this world? Are things already much more different than what I thought they were? I would have to investigate when I had time, so I could plan to keep Taylor safe.

I broke out of my thoughts as Taylor ran out of the door. Her hair was singed on the ends and she had dark bags under her eyes. She was about to pass me before stopping and looking at my spirit form with a small amount of irritation on her face.

"You and I are going to have a little talk while we run, Rider." She sounded really angry. I wonder why? Unless she saw the dream cycle or something, then she should be happy. Ecstatic, even. Oh, **she saw the dream cycle**. She gave me a look that said 'follow me or you'll regret it'. I quickly complied, going out of spirit form. I didn't want to piss off the only person who could help keep me here if I was harmed. And a moment later, I was effortlessly running alongside her in grey sweatpants and a yellow hoodie.

"Alright, let's talk." I casually replied back. Eventually, we ran into a small park. It was serene, almost ethereal like. The trees were starting to bloom and many flowers of various types were scattered around the grass. While I was taking in the scenery, she grabbed my arm. I let her drag me into an area hidden by foliage and other types of shrubbery.

"So, when were you going to tell me that I summoned Achilles?" She asked with very little patience. I sighed ruefully.

"If you didn't see the dreams, I would have told you when I had the chance. But the fact that you know my name is clear enough that many people would know my weakness, and start exploiting it when they fight me." I explained, seeing no reason to lie or deflect any longer now that the secret was out. She nodded imperceptibly, her eyes unable to meet my gaze.

"So I really did summon you with magic? The dreams weren't fake or the effects of a random cape messing with me?" She said with the possibly lowest tone of voice I had ever heard her speak in. I looked at her with a raised brow.

"Yes summoner, you did summon me with magic and the dreams you had aren't fake. You most likely experienced something called the Dream Cycle, where the Summoner and Summoned may experience dreams of each other's lives. And in your case, you saw most of my life. Am I right?" I explained with seriousness. She nodded again.

"So, if you're actually Achilles…" she slowly said. "Does that mean you actually are...you know?" She asked, confusing the hell out of me with that question.

"What do you mean by 'you are'? You are dead? You are old? If so, then I guess I am all of those things." I asked incredulously, the odd look I gave didn't seem to appease her. I didn't like questions that didn't have full meaning to them, as I found them useless and a waste of time. Wait, what? I wasn't like this before. Huh, I guess my other personality was probably overtaken by Achilles. That made sense to me, as it would be natural that the courageous hero would overtake the meek college student's memory. I shook out of my thoughts as Taylor continued.

"Invincible. You know, your invincibility that made you famous in the Trojan War." She dryly said. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, sorry. It's not like I had done anything else in my life. But to answer your question. Yes, I am actually invincible." I answered.

As she started to speak, most likely in awe or excitement, I raised my hand. "But, I will not use it on a daily basis. Even though it is always active, I don't want people to know I have it. If you want to see it in action, you must show me an enemy worthy to use it on. Otherwise, I will continue to do what I did during my fight with Lung." I said, immediately shutting down the idea of revealing one of my biggest secrets right away.

"Why do you not want to use your invincibility? It's not like anyone can hurt you, right?" She asked in a naive tone. I almost laughed at that. The idea of using invincibility on anybody was funny. But it also made me grin, knowing that I could beat many capes without using it.

"Any person who looks at me and says 'it's just invincibility' is an ignorant fool for thinking like that." I declared, anger overtaking my face and voice. "Andreias Amarantos is not just my invincibility, but one of the best defensive Noble Phantasms in my arsenal. I could probably defeat every parahuman in the city with it and in the process get some terrible group's attention on myself." I warned, hoping it would dissuade her from thinking like that. Only fools thought they were invincible.

"Noble Phantasms?" She asked curiously. Oh. Right. I forgot to tell her that, too.

"Ah yes, I forgot to tell you about those. A Noble Phantasm is essentially the legend of a hero, most of the time something they obtained, some examples would be my invincibility or King Arthur's Sword of Promised Victory. I have many of them to use, as I have been known for many accomplishments in my life. Did all of that make sense?" I inquired.

"So anything that you did or obtain that is well known, becomes part of your power in some way?" She asked. I smiled in agreement and a small nod.

"Yes. You are correct, Summoner." I responded, giving her a proud look.

"Then, do you have anything else I can see?" She asked with excitement.

_"Huh, I did have some other Noble Phantasms that I haven't shown her yet. Ah! I have the best one to show!"_ I thought, searching for something to show. I nodded and summoned my armor, along with Akhilleus Kosmos on my left forearm. The silver shield shining with a bright orange energy as it manifested, looking incomparably stunning compared to the area itself. I looked at Taylor and saw that she was mystified by it as well, staring with complete awe and some… recognition!?

"That's the shield! The shield I saw before I summoned you!" She almost yelled, looking it over with unrestrained awe. Well, that was something I didn't know. I thought an image of my chariot or spear would show up, not my shield.

"Well, this shield is called Akhilleus Kosmos and is one of my strongest Noble Phantasms in defense that I know of. It was forged by Hephaestus himself and given to me as a gift." I explained, pride emanating from myself.

"Can I see it?" She asked quietly. I nodded and unclasped the shield, slowly handing it to her. Gingerly, she held it in her hands before examining it.

"Even though this is a Noble Phantasm made for defense, please be careful with it. It can hurt you if you aren't careful, because it is stronger than a normal shield." I warned, watching her so she would be safe. She nodded and grabbed it by the edge.

She held onto the shield for a brief moment, looking it over before quickly returning it to me. I silently took back Akhilleus Kosmos and clasped it back onto my arm, the weight of the shield feeling oddly comfortable. Like it was made to be on my arm specifically. It just felt right to have the world supporting me, in a weird and non pretentious way.

"So, you actually are Achilles? You actually are the Hero of the Trojan War?" She asked. I had a feeling she was starting to believe me, if only a little bit more.

"Yes, I really am him." I said with certainty.

"Well, that's just amazing!" She exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm and bitterness. "How am I supposed to be on the same pedestal as Achilles with bug powers and at the same time have him call me Summoner! Like I can't help myself with my own powers!" She shouted, barely holding back her frustration. I briefly looked at her with pity, before walking towards her.

"I agree that you are not as strong or skilled as I am right now." I said as she looked down, her gaze not meeting mine. "However, that doesn't mean you won't be like this forever." I explained, shuddering as I remembered her actions as Khepri. She looked up with a surprised look, as if I was going to demean or belittle her relentlessly.

"You don't know it, but not many people would act against people like Lung with your powers. If someone else was there, they would have just ran the moment they heard him to save themselves. You displayed courage and bravery that not a lot of people would display in that situation. I would compare you to the likes of Herakles, Ajax, Hector, and myself with the actions you took that night." I saw her eyes widen and her mouth open slightly, probably from being compared to legends herself. "And although you will most likely be safer at a distance with your power, I agree that it would be good for you to be in the frontline." I continued, looking her in the eyes. "However, you should and will be prepared before doing so." I saw her look at me confused, unsure of what I was going to say.

"So, Summoner." I said, looking at her with a questioning gaze. "Would you like me to train you?" I slowly asked, Taylor's eyes now wide as saucers and slack jawed.

"I may not be a teacher like my mentor Chiron, but I can still help you become a great hero." I proclaimed, confidence in my voice.

"I don't- I'm not sure- I mean…" She was stuttering, her hands shaking with excitement and her eyes had a slight sheen. However, hidden under those emotions I could see uncertainty along with a hint of anxiety.

"What if I can't meet your expectations?" She started asking. "What if I fail? What if I-" I put my hand on her shoulder, cutting her tirade short.

"What if, Summoner? You can't live on what ifs forever. You have to make a choice, sometimes whether you want to or not. Life will not wait for you to decide." I said, resolutely staring at her. "So I ask you again, do want me to train you?"

There was a brief moment of silence that permeated the air. She had a contemplative expression, her eyes squinting slightly and her mouth set into a slight frown. I thought she was going to refuse and felt somewhat disappointed, before she turned to me.

"Yes. I'll take your offer." She stated, her face determined and eyes resolute.

"I'm glad, Summone-" "Taylor." She cut me off. I looked at her, surprised by her suggestion. "Call me Taylor. It's only fair that you know my name, since I know yours. Besides, it's not like my name is more important than yours." She lowly murmured with a smile on her face. Oh Taylor, if only you knew the significance of your names in the alternate future.

"Alright, Taylor." I responded. I smiled, happy of her decision and the conclusion of our conversation. Suddenly, I realized something important.

"Great! But as a side note, don't you need to go to school?" When I pointed that out, she froze in place. Her mouth set into a small frown bordering a sneer. Her eyes narrowed, containing a small amount of resignation and resent.

"Today is Monday, right? Isn't it already 7:15 A.M?" I asked innocently. I started chuckling when she bolted past me, likely to get back home as fast as possible to get ready. I went in spirit form and followed her, there to help my friend if a threat appeared.


	10. Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1-9c & 1-9t (Interlude

Author's Note: This is the final chapter of Γέννηση ενός ήρωα , or the Birth of a Hero arc. The is the first time I have ever written someone like Coil, so hopefully I got his personality correct. After writing the chapter: I didn't expect it to be so hard for me to write a sociopath's perspective **holy shit**. Hope you enjoy!

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.9c

_Thomas 'Coil' Calvert's POV_

_April 11, 2011_

_12:30 A.M_

_Underground Base_

I, like many other paranoid intelligent people, held onto the belief that one could never be too cautious. Everyday was a single moment closer to being in control over the city. All of the meticulous planning I had done and connections I had made were going to finally be worth it. I was so close, and I would be ready if a threat came to try and take my opportunity away from me.

I was in my secret base. Many hired men, whom I peppered with promises of good money or blackmail, were armed with the best tinkertech weapons from Toybox. They stood between myself and a set of heavy metal-coated doors, ready to stall intruders if someone were to attack. I was currently sitting on my comfortable swivel chair, listening to Tattletale speak as the Undersiders were running from Lung. I was giving them information on where to go using my power. With destiny manipulation on your side, you could truly do anything you wanted.

In timeline one, I told the Undersiders to lead on Lung and run towards the Downtown area. In timeline two, I told them to retreat and try to keep him off their tracks. I initially tried to get them to engage in a fight, but the Protectorate was able to reach them within a matter of minutes. It was a small setback, but one that was not too troublesome. The Undersiders slowly lead Lung towards an alleyway, before I immediately collapsed the timeline. They ran into a dead end and were immediately killed by him. I split the timelines and looked for another area they could go into. With my magnificent power, no one will be able to oppose me once I've gained control of the city. Besides _that woman._

I kept collapsing the timelines until they managed to get away, hiding on the rooftops. I had them observe Lung from afar and split the timeline once again.

In the first timeline, Lung got into a confrontation with a bug controlling cape. In the other, the bug controlling cape never showed up. I collapsed the latter and split the first timeline once more. I had the Undersiders join the fight in the first and stay back in the second. The bug cape may prove quite useful once I find out how to gain control of them, after all.

In the second timeline, Tattletale informs me that the new bug cape was about to die before being saved by another unknown cape. I collapsed the first timeline and I ask her in an even tone for more information. Intrigued by this new twist, I start to ponder about this new piece on the board. How would I use them? What powers did they have? What were their motivations?

Suddenly, my timelines started to distort before turning into a **pitch black void.** Panicking and confused, I use my power to find myself back before I split the timelines, as if it never happened. In one timeline, I tell Tattletale to leave after using her power to obtain the names of the capes. In the second, I tell the Undersiders to confront and try to recruit them into the team. More pawns are always a good investment.

The timelines immediately turn pitch black again, leaving me **enraged**. How does this keep happening? Does the new cape have an anti thinker power? Do they know where or who I am? Are they somehow influencing my power through my communication with Tattletale? I don't know how this is happening and it infuriates me to no end. **I need to know.** I am so **close** to my goal and I will not be stopped because of a single. **Unknown**. **CAPE**.

I start ordering Tattletale in the first timeline to confront the capes by herself and to try to get as much information on them as possible with her power. In another timeline, I order the Undersiders to immediately retreat back to their hidden base. Listening through the communicator, I would obtain the true information one way or another. It's not a crime if no one knows about your acts of torture, after all. Briefly chuckling at my great joke, I turn the communicator back on as the Undersiders retreat.

Thinking to myself, I tell Tattletale to try and recruit the capes from the alleyway. The uses of bugs are extremely versatile on their team as a hit and run squad. And although the unknown cape may be a slight threat to my plans, if I am able to get them under my thumb. Either through blackmail, bribery, or otherwise. I put my hands on my sides as I started to chuckle on my chair, slowly devolving into strings of maniacal laughter. The possibilities are endless. And the city is guaranteed to be mine if I can get that cape.

I start up a timeline where I tell Tattletale to meet up with me and in the other, I go to bed in my secret base. It's time for me to relieve some stress through torture. She may have lied to me, so I'll get the information from the source itself. Everything breaks with enough time. One way or another...

\--

Γέννηση ενός ήρωα 1.9t

_Lisa 'Tattletale' Wilbourn's POV_

_April 11, 2011_

_7:50 A.M_

_Undersider's Base_

I was in my room, researching as much as I could on the capes from last night. Rider more than Weaver, specifically. I had sticky notes all over the wall, information of various uses scribbled hastily on them. I was trying to figure out Rider's full powerset right now, but I was having a difficult time.

_"Too difficult of a time for it to be normal."_ I thought. It was odd how he was immune to my power, but I decided to focus on something else right now.

_Weaver is a recent trigger. Has had her powers for 3 months. Is still in highschool. Already healed by Panacea last night._

_"That was helpful, I guess."_ I thought to myself. It was nice to know, but it didn't give me anything on the man of mystery himself.

R̶͚̤̿̊̈̔̉͂̈́̾͝í̴̢̛̤̰̱̳̃͋͗͒̽͛͊d̴̛͍̻͔̓̾͋̐̿͋ȩ̸̣̟̰̩̖͈̗͌͜ȓ̷̜̱͕̅͆̅ͅ ̸̫͕̝̄̏́̿̉̚͠͝í̶̛̛̛̛͎̣̖͕͖̜̮̘͚̟̎̈͐͠s̶̨͈̣̭̳̝͎͉̰͊̈́̽̕͜͝ ̵̨͔̣͓̗͚̥͔̙̍̾̒́͑̊͠͠Ạ̷̼̩̺͊ͅć̵̢͜ḩ̸̜͆͋͆̀̄̂͝͠į̵̛͎̝͉͉̞͙̤́͗̐̒͑̈́͜l̸͙̱͙̹͙̺̩͙̝̽l̵̡̢̝̞̺̗͆̐̀́̓̀̍̀̃̌e̷̪̐̀̾̐̍͌͑͑s̴̨̛͇̱̪͚͖̗͂͒̃́͒̕.̸̮̳̪̝̑͑̈̉̌̽͂̀̕͝ ̶̤͍̺̼̮͙͙̞͗͂̈́̓́̍̊͛̓͝I̵͙̬͙̅̾ṫ̴͖̂́̈́̕ ̶̢͉͎̺̿͊̑̌̽͘͝i̷̡̖̱̹̱͕͉̎͠ͅs̷̩̣̥̮̲͉͛̓͆̓̊͘ ̴̳̿́a̷͎̰̟͓̻͙̒̈́̂̏̑͊̈́͊̋ ̴̙̗̃ḓ̸̡͍̙̼̂̋̏ê̶͚̲̝̲̐̈́̅͛̒͑͝ǎ̸̠̻̣͇̙̟̺̙͕̯̇ḋ̴̰͔̖͇̥̥̅̈́̈̊͊ ̶̧̼̭͚̭̈́͊m̴̗̟͛̌͒̀͒̅ȁ̴̯̿̔̕n̴̟̻͕̟͚̒'̵̛̲̗̯̗̯̜͎͊s̴̞̘͙͔̞͙̟̪̤̭̈́̂͗̋̍͒̒̈́̇͝ ̸̦̦͇̫̹́e̴͙͙̹̐̄̆f̴̢͍̭̉̓͊̾̋̐̚ͅf̷̢͇̜̹̙͓̫͔̀̇̋̾̀̒̑̑̀̚ò̴͔̫̻̞̟̳r̶͎̳͉̳̘̗̹̓̈̂ͅt̴̞̗̪̣̝̊̂͜͝ͅͅ ̸̱͍̩̈͋̕t̵͚̥̹͝o̸͓̤̞̪̫̲̔͜ͅ ̴̢̞̼͖͍̖̈́̄͂̔̈̔̄̄̚ͅg̷̡̡̡̠̬͚̝̬̘̍̒͛́ĕ̵̛͎͔͑̽̈͆͆̕t̴̢̢̯̹͙͙̞͍̭͂̊̿́͐͝ͅ ̸͖̻̖͙̪̞͚̀̀͒̈́̌͗͂̚ͅį̴̨̤̰͔̬̯͍̍̽̓͜n̷̨̤̜̜̣̼̽́͊͒͂͛̒̈̀͗f̷̛͍̠̬̱̻̠̌̓̉̏̿̈́̾̕ó̷̡͔̝̖̝͖̱̙̯͐̒̌́̒̚͜͝͝r̶̡̪̭̼̲͓̤̬͑̀̎̈́̂͝m̵̧͖̠͓̯͔̐͆̌̏́̈́̐̎̕̚ͅa̸̧̪̮̍͂́̃͒̾͗̂̕ṭ̴̡̧̩̣̥͆̇̏́̂ï̴̧̧͕͇̖͉͈͈̱̀͘͜͝o̷̙̻̐̒̓̄̅̚n̷̪̲͖̘̿͋̑̾̃̽̃͝ ̸̝̰̮̠̟͈̦̪̉̎̂́́ͅȯ̷͉̖͈̪̪͎̞̺̦̎͋͜n̷̡̺̖͖̩̗̙̣̓ ̷̙̘͉͓̘̯̹͎̠̓̓̆̋͗̏̒́͑h̷̨̛̳̞̰͙͙͍̯͛̈́̆͌͆̈́̂̉i̷̧̡̠̙̫̱͕̖̱̠͒̌͒̄̆͒̕m̷̧͎̖̯͚͍̈̆͑̾͐̒͒̚͘͜.̵̙̪̮̓̈̄̈́̌̓͆̈̒H̴̭̗͑͒̃̒͐̚ȩ̶̖̠̠̹̳͚̭̋̍̀̂̓̑̈́̈͝ͅ ̸̡̪̼̺̱̺̘̀̀͆̓̄͊̽̕ị̵͓̭̬̜̞̼̑s̶̫̯̘̗̙̻͇͖̝̟̉́ ̵̝̫̩̳͍̺̻͔͑å̴̛̼̫̞ ̷̨̯̻̤̞̭̈͗̑l̸̡͈̹͇͈̜͒̓͆e̶̡̧̥̥̹̯̠͍̖̩̒̈́̎̿̽̆̕g̷͎̥͕̹̤̲̖͌̽̾̾̾̔́͑͂ę̷̝̫͎̗̣̲̯͎͕̄̈́̔͌̀͗͆̓͠n̶̡̳̜̰̱̦̋̽̓̀̄͝d̵̥̺͖̫̭͎̮̓̀͗̎̇ä̴͈̲̣̳̘̣̹̰̫́͛͒̐̈͊ͅŗ̴̠̠̖͔͗̾̋̋͑͝͝y̶̩͚̩͎̅̈́̀͆͐̍̄̚̕͝ ̵̼̪̲͓̣̞͒̊̽ḧ̶̡̦̰͉̜̙̪̹͚́̄̇̚͘͠ę̸̝̙͍̙̱͎̈́̈̏̓ͅr̶̬̘͇̜̓́͠ȍ̷̢͖̩̣̝̺̮̗̥́̎͒͋̿.̵̬̒̉̒̀ ̴̙̥͇͇̦̞̎̈́̋͐͑̃H̸̢͖̰̀̊͂̊͐̈̾̊͂́e̷͚̳̞̹̰͂͛̐̕͘ ̵͖̘̫̌̒̽ẃ̵͎͎͉̥̩͕̤̯͚ͅī̸̱̹̱̩̙̯̘̞̯̐̋̈̅͘͜l̸̡̖̠͓̱̻̭̠̬͗̅̆͂͋͐͂l̶̢̺̜̠͓̠̀͗́͑͆͛̂̉̂ ̶̢͕̘̤̮̪̝̦̼̓͆̒̈́k̷͕̯̦̥̂͌̓̍͊ͅi̷̼͕̽̎̒̓͋̒͠ḷ̵̡̳̥̖͐̈̑̚ľ̷̨̟͙̣̗̜̥̥̣ ̷̱͓͕̬̞̱̙̱́̀͗̇́̊̀̀̂͘y̸̝̣͇̮͒̈́̋̔͛̌͝o̷͉̗̻͔͔̪͆͆̐͗̏̐̋̚͝͝u̵̧͎̞̘͖̼̺̲̖̤̓͊͝.̸̨̮̟̮̰̜̬̝̍̓͐̿̉͂ ̴̝̞͘T̷̘̬̝̰̮͓̠͗h̴̨̝̳̥͕͇͖͆͋̑͒e̸̙̱̻͚͐͘͜ ̶̮̂̾̄͑̊̅̌Ẉ̶̣͋̒̒́͊͒a̴̛̙͂̃̈́͋̏̓̃͘̚ȓ̵̭͙̞̻͙̿̎̋ͅͅr̴̹͙̓͝i̶̼̪̬̲̰̍̈͛͆o̵͙͙̗̮̦̫̹̳͔͛̀r̵̲͔̠͉͎̹̄ ̷̛͕̖̞͑͊͋͂́͒͝͝ì̸̬̓̄͆̅̑s̸̟̪̳͖͚̟͉͕̃̃͌́̽̄́̑̚͠ͅ ̵̬̯͉̊̾̇̾͝͝c̸̢͙̼̀ö̷̺̙̬̣̬̞́͒͌͌̌̊̒̋͝n̴̨̯̟̘͋̀f̶̝͗̎̈́̍ͅṳ̷̧̤̤̭̺̰̼̣̙̄̀̀͛̀̀̉̈́̍̓s̸̢̛̤̟̳̝̋̃̌̆̀̀̂̚e̸̻̜̾͆d̸̬̰̪̝̥̗̹͔̍̊͗̋̎ͅ.̷͇̙͆̉̈̑͆͝R̶͚̤̿̊̈̔̉͂̈́̾͝í̴̢̛̤̰̱̳̃͋͗͒̽͛͊d̴̛͍̻͔̓̾͋̐̿͋ȩ̸̣̟̰̩̖͈̗͌͜ȓ̷̜̱͕̅͆̅ͅ ̸̫͕̝̄̏́̿̉̚͠͝í̶̛̛̛̛͎̣̖͕͖̜̮̘͚̟̎̈͐͠s̶̨͈̣̭̳̝͎͉̰͊̈́̽̕͜͝ ̵̨͔̣͓̗͚̥͔̙̍̾̒́͑̊͠͠Ạ̷̼̩̺͊ͅć̵̢͜ḩ̸̜͆͋͆̀̄̂͝͠į̵̛͎̝͉͉̞͙̤́͗̐̒͑̈́͜l̸͙̱͙̹͙̺̩͙̝̽l̵̡̢̝̞̺̗͆̐̀́̓̀̍̀̃̌e̷̪̐̀̾̐̍͌͑͑s̴̨̛͇̱̪͚͖̗͂͒̃́͒̕.̸̮̳̪̝̑͑̈̉̌̽͂̀̕͝ ̶̤͍̺̼̮͙͙̞͗͂̈́̓́̍̊͛̓͝I̵͙̬͙̅̾ṫ̴͖̂́̈́̕ ̶̢͉͎̺̿͊̑̌̽͘͝i̷̡̖̱̹̱͕͉̎͠ͅs̷̩̣̥̮̲͉͛̓͆̓̊͘ ̴̳̿́a̷͎̰̟͓̻͙̒̈́̂̏̑͊̈́͊̋ ̴̙̗̃ḓ̸̡͍̙̼̂̋̏ê̶͚̲̝̲̐̈́̅͛̒͑͝ǎ̸̠̻̣͇̙̟̺̙͕̯̇ḋ̴̰͔̖͇̥̥̅̈́̈̊͊ ̶̧̼̭͚̭̈́͊m̴̗̟͛̌͒̀͒̅ȁ̴̯̿̔̕n̴̟̻͕̟͚̒'̵̛̲̗̯̗̯̜͎͊s̴̞̘͙͔̞͙̟̪̤̭̈́̂͗̋̍͒̒̈́̇͝ ̸̦̦͇̫̹́e̴͙͙̹̐̄̆f̴̢͍̭̉̓͊̾̋̐̚ͅf̷̢͇̜̹̙͓̫͔̀̇̋̾̀̒̑̑̀̚ò̴͔̫̻̞̟̳r̶͎̳͉̳̘̗̹̓̈̂ͅt̴̞̗̪̣̝̊̂͜͝ͅͅ ̸̱͍̩̈͋̕t̵͚̥̹͝o̸͓̤̞̪̫̲̔͜ͅ ̴̢̞̼͖͍̖̈́̄͂̔̈̔̄̄̚ͅg̷̡̡̡̠̬͚̝̬̘̍̒͛́ĕ̵̛͎͔͑̽̈͆͆̕t̴̢̢̯̹͙͙̞͍̭͂̊̿́͐͝ͅ ̸͖̻̖͙̪̞͚̀̀͒̈́̌͗͂̚ͅį̴̨̤̰͔̬̯͍̍̽̓͜n̷̨̤̜̜̣̼̽́͊͒͂͛̒̈̀͗f̷̛͍̠̬̱̻̠̌̓̉̏̿̈́̾̕ó̷̡͔̝̖̝͖̱̙̯͐̒̌́̒̚͜͝͝r̶̡̪̭̼̲͓̤̬͑̀̎̈́̂͝m̵̧͖̠͓̯͔̐͆̌̏́̈́̐̎̕̚ͅa̸̧̪̮̍͂́̃͒̾͗̂̕ṭ̴̡̧̩̣̥͆̇̏́̂ï̴̧̧͕͇̖͉͈͈̱̀͘͜͝o̷̙̻̐̒̓̄̅̚n̷̪̲͖̘̿͋̑̾̃̽̃͝ ̸̝̰̮̠̟͈̦̪̉̎̂́́ͅȯ̷͉̖͈̪̪͎̞̺̦̎͋͜n̷̡̺̖͖̩̗̙̣̓ ̷̙̘͉͓̘̯̹͎̠̓̓̆̋͗̏̒́͑h̷̨̛̳̞̰͙͙͍̯͛̈́̆͌͆̈́̂̉i̷̧̡̠̙̫̱͕̖̱̠͒̌͒̄̆͒̕m̷̧͎̖̯͚͍̈̆͑̾͐̒͒̚͘͜.̵̙̪̮̓̈̄̈́̌̓͆̈̒

I held my head with my hands as a headache, albeit less painful than the first one from before, rang through my brain the instant I tried to use my power on him. I winced in pain and turned off my power before my head would explode in pain again. I never had a problem with random people, as I could use my power on them with no resistance. But the second I try to use it on Rider, even on a forum online or just thinking about him, it negates my power. On one hand, I was happy that there was someone I couldn't read with my power. On the other hand, I was absolutely furious. I have never met anyone who I couldn't read and it pissed me off. This was the first time I couldn't see someone's secrets and I need the leverage. Coil needed information that I couldn't get and for the first time, he sounded actually pissed off at something.

_Coil's power most likely is having the same problem as you._

_"Well, that's nice to know I'm not the only one frustrated with this stupid bullshit."_ I thought bitterly.

Clearing my thoughts, I started scrolling through the forums on PHO. I found two results for 'Rider' and 'Weaver' each in the past 12 hours.

A post in the 'Defeats and Captures' list showed some results, but it was information I already knew. I needed something that gave me leverage over him or an idea of his power set besides 'strength' and 'speed'. Skimming the thread, I saw a small snippet that caught my attention. 'New Independent debut with a bang; heroes Weaver and Rider defeated ABB Leader Lung last night! Armsmaster brings Lung in to PHQ and states that he will most likely be imprisoned in the Birdcage after his teleconference trial due to his "extensive history of crime".' I saw a picture of Armsmaster with a small frown on his face as he was putting Lung in a steel cage.

_Armsmaster is jealous that he didn't get the credit for the capture. Was ordered by the higher ups to let Weaver and Rider take credit._

Well, that was quite interesting. But it isn't what I am looking for at the moment. I immediately went to the other post, where it had a good amount of information to piece together.

The second post was in 'Capes' forum, the thread named 'Rider and Weaver Powers?'. Many people were speculating powers, mainly Rider's powers. Many people thought he was able to summon a vehicle to ride on. Others thought he had flight or some sort of other mobility. Many people agreed that he had strength and speed as part of his main powers. Most people thought Weaver had something involving strong or thread as a power.

Ḩ̷̛̩͔̙͎̭͉̰̍̂̏̋̈́̎̕͜͝͠e̵̠̿̎́̿̽̑̄̽̇͠ ̷̻̰̥̗͎͖͋̓͌̌̓̒͐h̵̢̠̻̲̞̯̦̙̓͊̓͘͜͝a̸̫͍͓̹̰̣͊̃̔͒̂̏͊̕ͅs̵̡̩̝̹̻̲͉̞͎͉̐̉͌̊ ̸̥̳͈̰̹̕a̵̡̜͎͕̗͂͂͌̋͌ ̸̧̭͔̤͓̔̈́̂̓̇̉̃̏c̶̢̢͓̳̪̮̪̲͑̓̓̊̀̾͌͜h̴̫͈͙̹̯͎̜̣̦̬̔a̸̰̱͉͎̐̎̄̓͐͝r̵̝̬̫̗͔̝̠̲̜͙̐͑͌͐͛̄̑į̴̛̯̘̠͚͉̝̎̎́̎̈́̀͂̕o̸͎͒͛̋̚̚t̵̨̠̺͎̊̚ ̴̧̱̺͈̻͋͂͑͛̊̋ͅà̶̢̘͉̫̣̞͉͇͉̫̉s̶̫̟̱̤̻̩̹̥͝ͅ ̵̞̌̅͊̐̋́̓̚ȃ̶̟̎́ ̸̰̥̝̜̬̈̉͆̄̔͛͘v̴̧̑̒͋͂̚ḙ̵̖̤̋̎͊̇͗́h̷̝̙̩̻̣̬͗́̓̇͑͐i̸̧͙̹̘̠̞̱̻̊̑c̶̨̘̬͕̜̜̯̐͑͒̇̈́́͗͌͝ḷ̵̡̛̭̥̙̲̗̚͝ȩ̸͎̑̕.̶͙͈͆̏ ̸͔̹͉͓̯̹̟̅̆͒̓̒H̸̺͍͇̍̀͒̽͝e̵̠̱̮͚̗̪̝͐̑̐̔̚͝ ̷͈̼̝͉̱̯̹̐̽̂̓̂͗̀͘͘͝ì̵̥̤̭̭̈s̸̹̜͔͍̐̓ ̴̗͈͙̒̅̐t̵̢̯̮͕̣̻̼͉͇̜̅͐̎̇̍̊͝h̷̜̟̗͈̓̒̎̇̇̚e̴̡̳̳̝͓̬͇̳̖̾́̓̒̉̓͐͋͗͑ͅ ̵̛̤̺̘̐̊f̵̹͔̼̼͍̱͑̕ͅā̴̹̋̀̅̈́̒͋s̸͉̠̘̟̗̀̈́̂ͅt̷̨́ẻ̴͚͍̰̫͙͍͕̞̍̅̆s̶͓͎͍̱͇̐̂́̿̔t̷͔͉̗͉̻͈̊͛ ̴̧͕̹̥͚̜̳͉̹̉̊̏p̶̛̠̂̾͋̀̓̽́͠e̸̳͙̳͓̲͇͛͑̒̀̚͝͝r̶̝̹̼̙̖̂̈̆̀̓̀͠s̶̝̗̘̱̳̈͋͗̓͝ǫ̴̺̪̟̤͈̀̈́̀̋̊̀n̴̡̧̙̘̣̟͔͊͊͗ ̷̝͔̝̈́o̴̡̟͓̝̘̗͙̐̌͆́͜n̸͔̫̜͍̦͉̱̺̏̎̉̀̀̓͠ ̷̨̻̳̞̣̱̈́͊̾̀̆͘͠͠ͅṱ̶̹̳̙͉͎̱͙̎̏̈͌̃͗͒̕͝h̵̡̭̾̌̆̇́͆e̸̼̹̮̎̀̒͗̕͠ ̴͖̰͕͎̝͛ḡ̴̢̜̦̗͙͎̈̈̂̃́ͅṟ̸̤̤̰͉̒̓̍͑̇̾̽̌̇͜o̴̞̮͖̳͛̓̊ȕ̸͉͐̅̿̑̈́̌͜͝n̷̡̯̹̳̮͓͒͊̍̆̒͊̈́̄ḋ̵̺͇̯͛̇̄͜͝.̴̡̱̮͚͈̇̓̍̏̉̓̏̽͝͠ ̴̡̖̜̗̆̀̈͆H̵͇͎̰͕͚̃͗̍̚͠e̵̢͓̞̬̬̒̍̇͠ ̸̢͙̤̖̋͋̿̅̋̂c̴͙͕̩̘͐̌̅̅͌̽̈́͗͠á̶̢̛̬̠͙̙̻͔͖͍̑̈̍̌̂͘n̴̮̼̙̫̎̓ ̷̟̹͓̗̗̾̔̈́͗̄̃͊̃ͅe̵̅͜a̴̿͑̕ͅs̴̭͕̳͔̰̰͈̭̖͑̿̑̋̎͠i̶̼̱̩̹͐l̶̥̳̬̪͔̼͇̖̐̊̑͆̀̏ỷ̷͈̬̤̱̀͝ ̸̧̝̥̺̎́̂k̵̢̢̢̨̖̹̭̳̯̘̈͗͂̾̐̈̄i̸̢̻͎̾͆̅͜ļ̷̦̟̗͔̭̍̈̏̊͘͠͝l̵̜̂̿̎̐̀͐̓͒̌̈ ̵̨̖̤̙̯̰͒̕ý̷̹̪̔̑̈́́̕̚ͅö̵̖̫̦̖̲́̋͂͐̓ũ̶̢͓̘͉̘̩͒̈̾̍̇̕͜͜ ̵̢͎͇͍̾̈́̈́ȃ̶̡̯̫̰̤̣̈͑̅͂͛̒̃̿n̸̗̔̃́̿̊̑d̶̠͕̓̽̈́͋̈́̓̕͝ ̶̯̦͉̥̭̏̏̕ͅṯ̷̡̱̗͕͔͚̥͐h̸̯͚̣̜͚̣̱̞͖͌̋͂̓̇̾̕e̶̛̱̖͚̎̆͠ ̷̲͉̠͊̓̅̀̇̎̓͠w̷̡̠͉̭̬̮̦̍̆̈́͜͝h̵͔̻̊̄̑o̴̫̬̼̰͉̱̘͑́͆̉̆l̸̬̫̲͔̩͂͆e̷͎̝̼͉͑͒̔̇̆̎͒́̽ ̸̖͚͚̲̠͕̒͋̈́̇̂̚͘t̷̞̦͒̽̑͆̾͋e̶̜̩̦̒͗̍̀̔̾̈́͆͆a̸̝̺̤͙̹̱̾̈͛͝ͅḿ̸͓̂̈́͛͌.̷̻̽͗

"Son of a-!" I yelled, my head pounding due to the enigma that was Rider.

"The next time I see him, I'm going to slap him in his stupid face. Yes, a good slap to his face should be good enough to get rid of this headache. It's not like he's invincible or anything…" I vowed, before my headache went through my head once more.

I sighed, exasperated with this harder-than usual-search. Deciding to take a small break for a bit, I posted a message on 'Connections' that only Weaver and Rider would be able to understand if they saw ever it.

Happy that I made some form of progress, I walked out of my room to tell the rest of the team about the message I sent on PHO and made a plan on what we would do if they replied back. Hopefully, they would accept so I could gather more info on them when the time came.


	11. Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2-1

Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2.1

_Taylor's POV_

_April 11, 2011_

_8:30 A.M_

_Winslow Highschool_

The talk with Rid-Achilles earlier helped impede the dread I felt when I walked into Winslow. It didn't help that I only had a couple hours of sleep, but I'd rather be sleep deprived than have a large scar on my leg. It was funny, really. I had a life or death fight with Lung, met Armsmaster and Panacea, and made a team with Rider in my first night out. Now, it was like a normal day.

I made my way into homeroom, Rider following me in his spirit form. I admit that with him close to me I felt somewhat relaxed, knowing that I had someone to talk to now if I had any problems. Making my way to my computer, I sat down in my chair and started it up. I went on PHO and started to do some research while he was looking around the school.

Searching 'Tattletale' on the wiki, I was disappointed. I found next to nothing, besides that she was a villain active in Brockton Bay and that her costume was lavender. I already knew all of this and closed the tab.

A minute later, I searched up 'Undersiders' and found some information. They were a small gang of villains in Brockton Bay who were known for their escapes than anything else. I knew this information already, but not the capes in the Undersiders. There were a couple of names I didn't recognize, like Hellhound or Grue.

Deciding to search the latter first, I found a small chunk of vague information on him. Grue had been a villain for around three years, engaged in petty crimes like robbing stores or being an enforcer for people who needed hired muscle. He recently turned to high scale crime with his new team, robbing a casino and engaged in corporate espionage. His power was listed as 'Darkness Generation' under a picture of a black blur.

Searching Hellhound next, I found a large amount of definitive information. Rachel Lindt never made an attempt to hide her identity, moving to different places after encounters with cops and capes. The public sightings ended around a year ago, probably when she joined the Undersiders at the time.

Her power was able to turn dogs into large, monstrous beasts. The pictures that I saw showed that they were mostly made of flesh, bones, and claws. They were at least as large as a minivan, shown in a comparison picture. She was pretty infamous already as a cape.

Clicking out of her thread, I typed 'ABB' into the search bar and looked at all the posts in the last 12 hours. I almost shouted in excitement and jumped in pride from the title of the post. I decided on mentally celebrating in my head, since doing so in the middle of class would just give the Trio more ammunition to use against me and it would make the false rumors about me worse than they already were.

'_Independents debut with a bang; New Heroes Weaver and Rider defeat ABB Leader Lung! Armsmaster brings Lung in to PHQ and states that he will most likely be imprisoned in the Birdcage after his teleconference trial due to his "extensive history of crime".'_

_"Huh, looks like Armsmaster delivered on his promise."_ Rider observed through our link, looking at the computer screen. I had never clicked on any post faster in my life, going through the comments and snippets of the report. Many people were split on the report. On one hand, people were happy that Lung was finally captured. Others were scared of retaliation from the ABB due to Lung's capture, panicking and afraid of what was going to happen in the next couple of days or so.

I opened another tab and searched up 'Rider' and 'Weaver respectively. I found 3 posts, one of which was the previous Lung report. Another post was a power speculation thread. I heard Achilles snicker through our link as many people had assumed I used string or thread as my power.

_"If only they knew what your power was. They'd be singing a different tune."_ He said, amused. I had to disagree. Bugs weren't that scary. People just didn't seem to share the thoughts I had; that they were pretty cute. Looking back at the forum, a lot of people thought Achilles had an Alexandria Package and others thought he had some form of flight to help him move fast.

_"Well, they aren't wrong. My name is a little vague for people to try and guess my powers."_ He said, and I agreed. Achilles' cape name didn't really give a hint as to what his powers were. If I didn't know who he was, I would have probably thought the same thing that these people were assuming as well.

The 3rd post was titled oddly in the 'Connections' list. I clicked it and what I saw was short yet full of meaning:

**Subject:** Bug and Gaudy

Owe you both. Would like to repay you. Meet soon?

Reply back,

Tt.

_"Achilles, want to meet up with them?"_ I asked, wanting another opinion on this. I didn't know what they truly wanted, so I wanted to ask someone who had a different thought process than I did.

_"Eh, might as well see what they want. If they want to recruit us, then we can say no. If they just want to thank us, then we'll probably be fine. If they try to attack or ambush us, I could get beat them all in a couple of moments._" He responded, a vacant expression on his face. I agreed, before adding a little snippet to the private message.

**Subject Re:** Bug and Gaudy

Bug and Gaudy here. We are willing to meet, but need proof that you are Tt. We'll reciprocate if necessary.

I quickly sent the short response after looking it over a couple of times and the bell rang. I logged off of PHO and started shutting the computer off. I walked out the door, quickly going to my next class with Rider trailing closely behind.

_Library_

_3:10 P.M_

The school day had gone better than expected, with most of the pranks being stopped by Rider before they could actually happen. I was going to thank him, but all he said was that "he was pissed off by the amount of stupid and oblivious people in my school." It was nice of him to warn and help me, when nobody had done so before.

I was in the public library, so I could check if Tattletale had responded to my message. Rider was behind me, looking over my shoulder in the casual clothes he wore earlier. I still don't know where he got them, but I'd rather have him in that than his eye-catching armor. Logging onto PHO, I saw that she did in fact reply.

**Subject Re:** Bug and Gaudy

Proof? I answered your questions when you asked me who I was. You got saved by Gaudy and he beat the big guy into a pulp Also, he knocked him out again, making a bigger crater in the process. That enough?

I will meet you with my team. Where you, Gaudy, and I met last time Don't have to suit up if you don't wanna, you know? Rest of us will be in casual wear.

If we meet at 4 it should be enough time for you and Gaudy to reach us from the library with everything you need. That good?

Ta ta

**P.S: Tell Rider that he's really annoying, even when he's not around.**

My blood froze up. She knew where we were. But how did she know? Was I being tracked right now? Was I being hacked at the moment? How did she know Achilles was nearby? I was about to panic and freak the hell out. Apparently, he sensed my distress as he put his hand on my shoulder and inclined his head towards me calmly.

"Calm down, Taylor. If I'm correct, then she isn't threatening us." Achilles whispered, calming me down slightly with his words. It would make sense, after all. Why threaten someone if you wanted to meet up with them? Still, I was suspicious and would stay on alert the moment we left.

"Also, you might want to hurry up. Someone might come up and need to use the computer soon." He continued, gazing to his right inconspicuously. Following his stare, I saw a girl around my age with long blonde hair and blue eyes staring at Rider with…disgust? Shaking my head in confusion, I quickly typed out our response.

**Subject Re:** Bug and Gaudy

We'll be there at four.


	12. Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2-2

Time for things to happen and a long ass conversation to begin. Also, that was not Tattetale earlier in the Library.

Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2.2

_Achilles' POV_

_3:55 P.M_

_Meeting Spot_

Taylor wanted to put her costume on before going to the meeting and I agreed with her. Even though I knew that nothing would probably go wrong, it's better to be safe than sorry in the Bay. She had her costume hidden underneath a hoodie and a pair of jeans that were one size too large for her. I wanted to laugh, I really did. But I knew that she was just trying to be prepared for danger, so I held it in. Barely, though.

I had decided to keep wearing what I had on earlier. The yellow hoodie and grey sweatpants felt slightly tight on my body. I didn't realize until I had put them on earlier that they were only form fitting because I was running in the morning. Now that I was standing still, it was like I was wearing a suit with a tie tied on too tight. It was constricting my body and uncomfortable as all hell for me. I didn't bother wearing my armor because I would get too much attention if I did so. People would start panicking and assume that I would start murdering people or something like Hookwolf.

I stared across the street. The alleyway where the Undersiders were probably waiting for us. Taylor had her hood up, looking extremely out of place in the daylight wearing dark clothing. As she was about to go to the alleyway, I held my hand up.

"Taylor, let me go into spirit form. They shouldn't be able to see me, so I can check if they're actually there." I explained, staring at the alleyway sceptically. She nodded imperceptibly, and my body became transparent. I walked into the alleyway and looked around. I spotted four figures on a rooftop and I instantly recognized them as the Undersiders in casual clothes. All four of them were the-Wait, four!? **Shit****.** I didn't think Bitch would be here too.

_"Tattletale is here. There's also three others with her too."_ I messaged calmly, looking them all over and committing their faces to my memory.

I instantly recognized them immediately. The dark blonde haired girl was the shorter of the two. Tattletale had freckles on her nose and green eyes, with her hair in a french braid. The other girl had Auburn hair, a squarish and blunt looking face with thick eyebrows. Bitch looked extremely irritated, probably from having to wait for us to arrive.

The last two were guys. The curly haired guy wore a white hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. Regent had blue eyes, a small frown on his face and was shorter than Grue. The other guy in comparison was the opposite of Regent in terms of looks. Grue had dark chocolate skin, cornrows, and a strong jawline. He wore something you would wear in summer. A plain green shirt, boots and jeans.

Taking a mental note of everyone here, I walked back and went next to Taylor.

"You ready to go in?" I asked, wondering if she was about to back out last second.

"Yeah, let's go." She said, before moving towards them and leaving me behind. Shaking my head for a moment, I quickly followed behind her as she climbed the fire escape. We finally climbed up onto the roof, moving towards the four of them. As we approached, I could **feel** Bitch's stare on me. It was like a laser piercing through my skin.

"And they have arrived," Tattletale gloated, "You know what to do."

I didn't think it was possible, but Regent's scowl intensified. He put his hand in his pocket, pulling out some money. He was about to put it in her open palm before stuffing it back from where it came.

"You bet on whether we showed up?" Taylor questioned, subtly fishing for more information.

"We bet whether you and Rider would show up in costume." Tattletale explained to her. She stared at Regent for a moment with a smug smirk, before looking back at us. "And I won it." She said, her voice extremely smug.

"Rider didn't even show up in costume! It doesn't even count!" Regent said, holding the money back from her. They started to argue over who won the bet and Grue just looked at us before slowly facepalming.

"It was a one sided bet anyways." Grue said, as if it was a fact. "You were going to lose, because that's what I would do. But I didn't think Rider would show up not in costume." He said, pointedly looking at me with a raised brow.

I shrugged nonchalantly, saying, "Not like there's anyone else in the city who has a haircut or hair color like mine, anyway." I pointed at my grass green hair and bang going over my left eye.

Grue chuckled slightly before extending his hand towards us, "I'm Brian."

He shook Taylor's hand, as she said "My name's Weaver, nice to meet you. I guess."

He shrugged for a second before saying, "Alright." I could feel Taylor's guilt of not telling him her identity through the link we had. Deciding to take the initiative, I brought my hand forward.

"You can call me Rider." I said, shaking hands with him. Turning my gaze, I saw Regent was using his power to keep Tattletale from reaching for the money _they were still fighting for_. Seriously?

"Lisa." Tattletale said, still trying and failing to grab at the money in Regent's hand. I would have thought her rude since she didn't look at us when she spoke, but I could tell she was _busy_.

"I'm Alec," Regent said, still fending off Lisa from grabbing _the 20 fucking dollars_. He absently added, "Oh! And Bitch over there is Rachel."

I shifted my gaze and suddenly found my gaze connected to Rachel's. **Shit**. Everyone stopped moving, staring at us. The mood had shifted, affecting even Alec and Lisa who had stopped fighting. Lisa specifically looked at us with barely hidden curiosity. As Rachel approached, I put an equal amount of ferocity and control into my gaze. Enough to display a sense of dominance and a show of respect towards her. I looked her in the eyes and she stopped in place.

"Hmm." She kept staring at me, before shifting her gaze away. "Alright." As she moved back towards the dogs, it was as if all tension had vanished.

"Well, that happened. You made a good impression on her, if what happened was anything to go by." Lisa said with an exhausted sigh.

"Anyways, that wasn't what we came here for." Brian said, pulling our attention to an Alexandria lunch box he put on the floor.

"We wanted to make a show of trust." Lisa elaborated, pushing the box towards us. I stared at it for a moment while Taylor examined it in her hands.

"Personally, I prefer Hero." I said looking over the box for a moment. "But I guess Alexandria is fine..." I trailed off, gesturing towards Taylor who had been looking over the design with an odd state of fervent curiosity. I coughed into my hand and she snapped out of it after looking awkwardly in their direction.

"Open it." Lisa said, as she performed the most exaggerated eye roll I had ever seen someone do in my entire life.

Taylor undid the clasps and opened the box, revealing 16 neat stacks of $250 each.

"Four grand." I quickly counted, while Taylor was looking over the money with a surprised look.

Lisa looked at us and said, "You can take it as a gift for saving our asses from Lung. And maybe as motivation to count us as your friends when you're doing some wicked work in your costume."

She had her trademark grin on her face, wide in amusement. "Between the disputes, clashes in beliefs and cape fights, there's a rare amount of people who won't attack us as soon as they see us." She explained, looking between Taylor and I.

"Or you can take it as your first monthly payment as one of the Undersiders." Brian spoke up. _"As one of us."_ were the unspoken words that rang throughout our heads.

"Can we have a moment to talk about this?" I asked, and they nodded slowly. Grabbing her arm, Taylor yelped in surprise as I dragged her over to an empty corner on the rooftop.

Positioning myself so that Lisa couldn't read Taylor with her power, I started talking through our link.

_"So, I'm assuming you don't want to join?"_ I asked, and she nodded. I started thinking about how to use this to our advantage. Even though they were villains, it would be useful to have someone help us if we needed it desperately.

_"How about we have them as allies of some sort?"_ I suggested after some thought.

_"But they're villains!"_ Taylor pointed out. I turned around and saw Lisa and Alec were fighting over the money again, while Brian was watching. Rachel was tending to her dogs, shifting her gaze between them and myself. I gave Taylor a pointed look.

_"They may be villains, but it couldn't hurt to have some allies."_ I continued. _"Even villains can be good people."_ I finished, looking at the Lisa and Alec fighting over something **again**.

She sighed ruefully, silent for a moment. She looked at me and nodded hesitantly. _"Fine, we'll do that. But you're proposing the idea, since it's you thought of it."_ I agreed to that. It made sense. Who would make a plan and have someone else say what it was? Unless they were too lazy to explain their plan. Turning around, we moved right in front of them.

"So, we made a decision." I said, facing them with Taylor next to me. I got their attention, all of them turning towards me. Good.

"And? What did you decide on?" Lisa asked subtly.

"We have decided that although we won't join the Undersiders, that we want to have an alliance of sorts between us." I stated, looking at them with a serious expression.

"Oh? And how would that work?" Alec asked dully. The scowl on his face had lessened, but it was still there. If barely.

"Simple. You need help with something reasonable that doesn't conflict with our professions, then we can help you. And vice versa. Is that clear?" I explained.

"That's actually pretty reasonable." Brian replied, surprised by the terms of the deal. I turned over to Lisa with a raised brow.

"I like the idea as well. I think this will be good for both of our teams." She agreed with a grin that made me feel uncomfortable. I looked at Alec.

"I'm fine with whatever." He said, not really paying attention to the conversation. I shifted my gaze at Rachel with the same stare I used on her before. She nodded at me wordlessly. Huh, I didn't think she would agree. Well, whatever. I gazed at the last person who didn't say anything yet.

"Yes, I agree to these terms. As long as the things we ask for don't conflict with our acts of interest, then we'll be fine." Taylor acknowledged.

"Well, looks like we're in agreement. Message us if you need any help and you'll do the same for us when we ask." I said, looking at all of the Undersiders. They nodded and Bitch whistled.

The dogs behind her suddenly began to grow until they were the size of a small minivan. It wasn't an instant transformation, as it took a moment for all the dogs to become gargantuan. They all hopped on the dogs like they were riding an extremely large horse.

"We'll see you later. We'll call if we need help." Lisa said with a wink before the dogs bolted out of area, leaving no trace that they were ever there.

"Well, that's that." I huffed out, happy to be done with the conversation. I walked over to lunchbox they left and picked it up.

"Hey, Taylor." I called to her, and she turned towards me. I pushed the box into her hands, making her stumble slightly. "You can have the money. It's not like I need it anyways. You know, heroic spirit and all that jazz." I said nonchalantly.

She stared at the lunchbox in her hands intensely, as if it was going to blow up in her face or something.

I sighed before looking at her. "Look," I said, getting her to focus on me. "That money right there." I started, pointing at the it.

"Even though it came from villains, you earned this when you decided to fight Lung. Alright? Be proud of what you were able to accomplish and take it in stride, okay?" I explained with a slight grin.

"...Okay. Thanks, Achilles." She replied hesitantly, looking at me with her yellow lids on her mask.

"Good!" I exclaimed, going over to the fire escape.

"You should probably change out of your costume. After you're done, we'll head back to your house." I recommended. She was about to protest before I said. "This was an eventful day, after all."

I didn't wait for her to respond as I started climbing down the ladder. In a moment, I reached the bottom. I walked over to a wall and propped myself up against it.

Waiting on Taylor, I started to think about what would happen in the next couple of days. The bank would probably get robbed by the Undersiders, unless Coil had a different plan to kidnap Dinah. Then Bakuda would start her bombing spree throughout the city. I got interrupted by the sound of a slight clanging noise from behind me and I turned around.

Taylor changed back into her civilian clothing and she had a black backpack strapped on. She probably used it to hide her costume. We walked out of the alleyway and made our way to Taylor's home, with me in spirit form.


	13. Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2-3

Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2.3

_Taylor's POV_

_April 11, 2011_

_9:00 P.M_

_My House_

I was sitting on my bed looking over the schoolwork I had finished for my classes, making sure everything was done correctly and double checking the answers. I put it into my bag and placed my backpack onto the side of my bed. Yawning, I looked at the rectangular alarm clock on my bedside drawer.

_'9:00 P.M.'_ I thought to myself, as it flickered with a bright and dark red light every minute or so.

I stood to look out my window and saw Captain's Hill in the far distance, illuminated by the gleaming moonlight. I tore my gaze from the window and sat down on my bed, all my tension leaving my body. I was tired from what had happened today. I had been surprised and denied Achilles' suggestion to ally with the Undersiders, but he seemed to have a grasp of the situation so I reluctantly went along with it.

_'He was right about me needing to relax. I haven't been able to sit down like this and just think in a LONG time…'_ I mused with a relaxed smile.

I was interrupted from my short time of peace by Achilles walking through my closed door in spirit form. He approached me with a pensive expression on his face, as if he were thinking about something really important.

_'It's probably nothing important'._ I thought, but the paranoid part of my brain lowly whispered in my mind 'It's important…'. I broke out of my thoughts as he spoke, excited at the prospect of his question.

_"Hey Taylor, wanna start your training tomorrow?"_ He questioned through our link. He found my expression funny, if his amused grin was anything to go by.

_"Yes!"_ I yelled eagerly through the link. He looked at me oddly. _"I mean...sure?"_ I continued, giving him a sheepish grin while shifting my gaze away in embarrassment.

His stare was like he had just struck gold in a bronze mine. He walked up to me and placed his ethereal hand onto my shoulder, making me focus on him.

_"Good, we'll start tomorrow,"_ He stated before shifting into an expression with schadenfreude, _"Probably around an hour or so after you finish the school day."_

With a nod I agreed, before I quickly fell asleep on my bed, dreaming of happy days and a life without the bad things that had happened in my life.

_April 12, 2011_

_4:00 P.M_

_Hidden Empty Lot_

_'I feel like I overestimated Rider's training regime.'_

I thought, as I controlled my bugs and dropped them in certain areas around the hidden and empty parking lot.

When Achilles told me I would be training, I thought I would be doing some sort of ridiculous and strenuous routine that pushed me to my limits. Not practicing using my bugs in a semi-controlled environment. Especially with the expression he had yesterday. Maybe he was trolling me? But then how would he know what _trolling_ was if he's from thousands of years ago? Shaking my head of those absurd thoughts, I recalled what Rider said to me earlier.

'What about you try to see if you can do anything else with your bugs?' He suggested before he went onto a rooftop, observing silently from a distance.

Closing my eyes and calming myself, I began to focus. I felt all the bugs around the area, their movements erratic before I took control of them. I ordered them to move into specific groups and I sent a spider to move in front of me. I sent a command to it, a brown recluse specifically, making it do a short macarena dance. I giggled for a moment before stopping, wracking my brain for something that I could do that would help in my life as a cape.

I wanted to try something new, something that would help when I went out to patrol. I imagined myself on the wall, looking through the spiders' eyes and looking around the area. It worked, although it was like before I had my sight fixed and didn't have my glasses on. All I could see through the spiders' eyes were a blurry figure.

Opening my eyes, multiple brown recluses had gathered in front of me while I was experimenting. They were all doing the macsrena like I ordered them to earlier. Thinking I had found something interesting, I sent out a somewhat complex order to see what would happen. Surprisingly, they were able to understand my multi-task order of making silk, cutting it, and bundling it up before repeating the process.

I had a moment of realization and I began to command various bugs to do multiple things at the same time. Brown recluses producing silk and bundling it, wasps doing various attacks in certain patterns, moths flying around me to conceal me and distort my voice, black widows chasing a rat into an ambush of tarantulas, and placing flies all around the area to listen to the surrounding area. I was briefly interrupted by Achilles snapping his fingers in front of my face, the noise echoing throughout all the insects nearby and startling me out of my concentration.

"Hey, you alright?" Achilles asked, before sitting down in front of me. Nodding, I reciprocated his action. He hummed for a moment before sighing in relief.

"Hm, okay. I thought something weird happened because you stopped moving for a bit." He said, before examining the surrounding area with a curious glint in his eye. He gazed back at me with a small but proud smile on his face.

"I can see you were busy finding things out about your power. Mind telling me what you were able to do?" He probed with interest.

I then described everything I had done so far, such as my sub-par vision through bugs and my odd trance-like state I was in. He nodded to my explanations, but became confused during my explanation with the bug vision.

"So you tried looking through your bugs, right?" At my nod, he continued, "How about listening through them? Maybe you'll be able to scout more easily through noise instead?" His suggestion was really appealing to me. Being able to listen to someone's conversation, especially if it was a villains' plan of some sort or doing some simple reconnaissance, would be extremely good to have as a skill.

Taking his advice, I closed my eyes and focused my breathing again. I tried to listen through my bugs, but it was like listening to static humming in the background. However, I could distinguish the noises made between his voice and the other things I could hear throughout the area. Voices were more pronounced and they had certain sounds to them that identified them easily. Other noises such as metal hitting stone or paper crumpling were harder to make out, due to them quickly fading into the background static.

I broke out of my focus and looked to see Achilles give me a stunned expression. I was proud of myself for accomplishing something with a mostly mundane power. But more than that, I was happy that he was here in general. It was a nice feeling, like a big brother who gave advice on things I needed help with. Dad was helpful, but things haven't really been the same since Mom had…

Stopping that line of thought, I took a deep breath and quickly calmed myself down. Hoping he hadn't seen what was about to happen, I looked at him with a happy smile.

"Thanks for training me today." I said sincerely. He gave me a small smile before turning away, looking off in the distance.

"I didn't help you, I just gave you some advice." He stated. I stared at him with an incredulous expression, which he either didn't notice or decided to ignore.

"You're the one who helped yourself by finding out the limits and abilities of your power." He deflected. I shifted my expression into an accusing stare, before hesitantly yielding to his claim.

An awkward moment came and I took a moment to appreciate the silence, knowing that I had a friend to help me whenever. He stood up, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders with an audible ***POP*** noise as I flinched at the sound.

"Well, I would say that's a good point to stop and go back." He declared, before stopping in place. "Oh, right." He turned to face me, like he had remembered something important.

"Be sure to always practice with your power, even when we're not training." He recommended, looking at me with a serious look. Why would I keep practicing my power? Judging by his grimacing expression, he must have seen my confused face.

"If you practice your powers, it will become easier to perform them. It will be like second nature to see or hear through your bugs." I made an 'o' expression as he continued, "Your multitasking seems pretty good enough since I saw what happened earlier." He explained before whispering under his breath, _"That fucking trap for that rat was overkill though…"_

"What did you say at the end?" I asked, curious to know his thoughts on the trap I had made. His eyes widened slightly.

"I thought it was a very good plan. The tarantulas were a nice touch." Achilles said quickly, not looking me in the eye. I smiled brightly, before calling a tarantula and laid it onto my shoulder. I started to pet its back lightly with a finger as it made cute and light hissing noises.

"Well, I think it's time to go home. Don't you think?" He said, looking at the sun. I looked at one of the stores nearby and saw the time.

_'5:15 P.M, huh?'_ I thought, before agreeing slightly. The sun was close to dusk and I had schoolwork to finish. With that thought in mind, I walked back home with Achilles in spirit form. I was happy with the things I had managed to accomplish from training and exploring my powers today with his help, even if he said he didn't help me. It really is nice to have someone helping me...


	14. Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2-4

Author's Note: Time for (ya boi, grass-head) Achilles to bust some criminals!

Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2.4

_Achilles' POV_

_April 12, 2011_

_11:30 P.M_

_Taylor's House_

I was in spirit form, sitting on the edge of Taylor's roof. I was currently facing my greatest enemy. It wasn't Scion, the Simurgh, Eidolon, Hector, Chiron, or Penthesilea. It was the worst enemy I could have ever faced, **BOREDOM**. I was extremely bored out of my damn mind again. There was nothing for me to do when Taylor was sleeping, besides watching over the house like a sentinel or automated turret. The end of the world was so close yet so far away from now. Well, as far as it could be with me here. Which isn't saying a lot, really.

_'I don't feel like destroying another tree, either. It never stood a chance…'_ Shaking my head somberly, I looked out into the city. Brockton Bay was a place that needed cleaning up in various ways, after all. And Taylor couldn't get mad at me for doing something heroic, right?

"I might go out tonight. Besides, what could go wrong?" I muttered to myself before jumping off the house, making no sound or impact as I landed. Checking on Taylor one more time and finding her sleeping peacefully, I began running north-east. Specifically, towards the Docks in hopes of finding something to deal with my rising boredom.

\--

_11:55 P.M_

_Docks_

It was almost half an hour and I didn't find anything of significance. I was searching around the area and didn't see any ounce of crime, even in the Boardwalk or Boat Graveyard. All I saw were people of various ages walking around in the night. I was starting to believe that I had gone to the wrong area tonight. As I turned a corner, I faintly heard two people whispering to each other.

"Hey, did ya hear? The boss is having a recruitment party later tonight." I heard a voice say. My interest piqued, I decided to move closer to the voices. I looked around the place until I spotted two people on the sidewalk. The two voices I identified were men who wore ragged and dirty clothes, probably from being unwashed and used multiple times. They had unkempt, greasy hair and wrinkles on their face with crooked yellow teeth. One of them had bloodshot eyes and his hands were shaking slightly.

_'Merchants, huh?' _I thought after a moment of looking them over. I finally found something to do. _'Now all I had to do was wait for these guys to spill the location…'_ I mused with a satisfied grin, before focusing back on their conversation.

"Well, shit." The man with bloodshot eyes said, before he gained a glazed stare. "I just might drop over there. Just to see if I can get another dose…" He continued before trailing off, shifting his interested expression into a crazed face. The other guy gave him a slightly disgusted look.

"Well if you wanna go, make sure to be at the Trainyard in half an hour." The first man declared with a raised brow before leaving the area, the other guy just standing still and staring into the palm of his hand.

_'Well, time to go and bust some crackheads.'_ I thought to myself. I chuckled to myself for a second before wearing a shark-like grin and heading north-west to the Trainyard.

\--

_12:25 P.M_

_Trainyard, Hidden Location_

_'Well, I finally found where they're having the recruitment party.'_

I thought tiredly. It was in a pretty hidden spot, considering the very few ways to find the entrance of the damned place. It looked like something you would see in a post apocalyptic setting. The warehouses I could identify were in a state of disrepair, the buildings making this area look even more depressing. Looking towards where I came from, the buildings were in decent shape and usable by others. The signs on many of the buildings had typical names in a place filled with various stores, like a commercial district of some sort.

I shifted my gaze to the location where a good fifty people or so was gathered, like sheep in a pen. It was loud with people cheering and I could see some of them were already passed out. Taking in the air, it smelled like cheap booze and some drugs I couldn't identify. I heard a hoarse voice through the speakers and I focused my attention to the make-shift stage.

"Are you cunt-munching cocksuckers ready for the night of your motherfuckin' lives?!" He shouted and most of the crowd went wild from his statement. Looking at the conglomeration of people, I could tell that some people looked really out of place. Especially the kids and teens I could spot who were being held in place by others.

_'Forced recruitment, huh?'_ I thought, my right fist clenched tightly. I didn't have a good experience with drugs in my other life, as most of my family had gotten addictions and had been brought into debt. We were able to make it through, but it was something I didn't want others to go through, especially if they were unwilling. I looked over to the man with barely hidden rage.

He was wearing a blue mask over the top half of his face. Lowering my gaze to the lower half of his face, I saw he had dark skin with chapped lips and yellow teeth. It took me a moment to realize who he was. Looking behind him, I saw a blonde woman in skimpy clothing smoking a cigarette and a man covered in various pieces of trash and junk. Moving my gaze to the left, I saw a cape I didn't know. He had small but noticeable holes on his body expelling some sort of substance every couple seconds. I didn't even need to know what his power was and what they were using it for. I shook my head in disgust before concentrating.

_'So, the whole gang's here huh?'_ I thought as I examined them all. I began to plan. I prioritized certain capes in my mind before I began moving towards them.

"Now that's the motherfuckin' reaction I want to hear you pussy lickers make! We're gonna fuckin' party until the sun fuckin' hits the damn sky!" Skidmark proclaimed, before walking over to a random person in the crowd and pulling a syringe from his pocket. It didn't take me long to realize that he was about to inject some sort of drug into a kid.

_BGM: Intensity of Lord OST_

In one moment I was in spirit form and the next I immediately rammed into him, with me donning my gold armor. I ran into a building at half speed and holding back my strength, slammed him into the wall once. I expected him to be knocked out, but he just coughed and rasped in pain before looking at me.

"Who the fucking hell is this cock guzzling weed-haired bastard of a whore?!" He yelled in confusion. Ignoring his comment about my hair I (lightly) slammed him once more into the wall, knocking him out and creating a bigger indent in the already broken down building. Making sure I didn't accidentally kill him, I quickly checked his body and let out a breath in relief as I found a pulse.

Turning around, I saw that many people had already left the place besides the passed out people. Looking around, I saw that there was one girl who **decided to start recording the fight like an idiot RIGHT NEXT TO MUSH.**

Running towards her, I swung her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and retreated as Mush slowly swung his trash-covered arm out to try to crush him. I quickly jumped onto a rooftop and slowly let her onto her feet before giving her a thumbs up. She gave me an awe-stricken look and said something I couldn't hear as I moved back towards the fight.

I saw that the spore cape was standing over Skidmark with some sort of healing drug going out of his body and that Squealer was nowhere to be found. I turned my attention away and I suddenly found Mush's arm connecting with my own, with me quickly pushing him back. With my free arm, I summoned my spear and quickly struck him with the blunt end. He went flying into the air with a sonic boom, all of the trash and junk he had gathered flying off his body and I instantly threw my spear. It flew with great accuracy into his arm and pinned him onto a nearby wall with graffiti.

With him done with, I heard a loud honking noise before I braced myself. I felt something ram into me as I gripped it and held it in place. Digging the heels of my feet into the ground, I looked up as saw that Squealer had managed to get her souped up truck and tried to **run me over with it**.

"Are you fucking crazy? What kind of person tries to run someone over with a truck?" I questioned incredulously as I held the truck in place, the heels of my feet digging into the lot.

Squealer looked at me with a panicked expression before she started shrieking loudly (her shriek fucking hurt more than my heel getting pierced **holy shit**). She attempted to move backwards before I shoved my hand into the engine and pulled some wires out of it, effectively breaking the truck. She got out and tried to run before I blocked her path and quickly knocked her out by striking the back of her neck with a karate chop.

"Good lord that was annoying. Nearly blasted my damn eardrums out with that shit..." I muttered irritably before turning towards the last person I had to deal with.

I saw that Skidmark was still knocked out cold and that the spore cape was standing nearby with his power still working, ready to defend him. I let out an exasperated sigh as I moved over to him. He crossed his arms as I jumped over him and punched the back of his head, knocking him out right away.

Happy that this fight was finally over, I went back to the girl I saved. The girl finished recording the fight and gave me a starstruck expression.

"That was so cool! You were like **'BAM'** and they were like **'BANG'** and she was _'WAAAAH'._" She gestured while making odd sound effects. I decided to put my hand on her shoulder, making her stop rambling.

"Hey, can I borrow your phone for a moment?" At her confused face, I elaborated, "I need to call the PRT so they can get these guys in jail?" I gestured to the four unconscious capes behind me. She gained an expression of realization before she input the number and handed me the phone. Waiting a couple of moments, the line finally picked up.

"Hello, this is the PRT Hotline. How may we help you tonight?" The voice said through the speakers. God, I hated political stuff. I was much better at fighting through things than talking them out to be honest. But I would try to be as nice as possible, if only so we could cooperate.

"This is Independent Hero Rider. I knocked out all the Merchant capes and have them ready to be picked up at the Trainyard." I replied politely. There was a moment of brief silence as I waited for a response. I was about to hang up and call the number again before they finally replied.

"We have 3 PRT vans along with Miss Militia who are on their way to your location." She said nicely. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright. Thank you." I said before hanging up. I held the phone out for the girl who held it in her hands with a odd look of fascination. Deciding now was the best time to leave, I went back down and gathered the four unconscious capes together in a line.

\--

It didn't take long for the PRT and Miss Militia to arrive on the scene, where they immediately spray containment foam on Squealer, Mush, and Skidmark.

Miss Militia turned to me and gave me what I assumed to be a smile underneath her mask. "So you're the one that captured Lung with Weaver, right?" I nodded, before she looked around and turned back to me. "Where is Weaver, by the way?" She asked curiously.

"Weaver's probably having a nice night of sleep." I state, not wanting to give out too much information to the Proctectorate. I didn't trust the system they had, especially with Coil still up and running around.

She hums, satisfied before continuing, "Can you give me a statement of what happened tonight?" She asked, looking at me. I nod before beginning.

"I was patrolling around the area when I heard someone talking about a recruitment party that the Merchants were hosting. I discovered the location and decided to intervene. I saw about 50 or so civilians that they had gathered into the area that they were most likely trying to make addicted to certain substances. I immediately knocked out Skidmark before saving a civilian who was about to get crushed by Mush." I pause and I see her eyes had widened slightly.

"Did the civilian get hurt?" She asks before I shake my head.

"No, I was able to get her to safety and returned to the fight afterwards. I proceeded to pin Mush to the wall. Afterwards, Squealer was able to obtain her vehicle and tried to run me over. I was able to stop her truck and knock her out as well, before moving to the Spore cape and incapacitate him as well." Thank the Gods I'm finally done talking. That was possibly the most I've ever spoken in my damn life. At least I explained the situation clearly.

I look over her shoulder and see the PRT members hesitate upon looking at the new cape, looking back and forth between another. They were probably wondering what his power would do to the foam.

"His power lets him eject certain substances out of the holes around his body." I call out, before they instantly spray his whole body and put him in a van too. Go figure.

I looked back to Miss Militia. "Was that a good enough of a statement?" I asked. She nodded before she suddenly froze and looked at me.

"Why do you not wear a mask?" She pointed out, staring at my face. I shrugged.

"I feel a mask is _inconvenient_ and _pointless_." I say, looking at her apprehensive face before elaborating, "I'm most likely the only person in all of Brockton Bay to have green hair, anyways." She nods at that explanation, before speaking into her earpiece. She nods her head before looking back at me.

"Have a good night, Rider." She says as she helps the PRT members bring the foamed Spore onto the van.

I nod in appreciation before walking into a nearby alley and switching into spirit form. As I walk back to Taylor's home, I realize something important.

_'I just took out a whole gang! Even though it's a small one, it's better than nothing.'_ I thought with a satisfied smirk before shifting to a small grimace as I realized something.

_'Shit, I just made a huge power vacuum that the Empire will probably take advantage of.'_ I thought of all the implications that would have, before shrugging.

_'Eh, it'll just be another reason for me to go out when I get bored again.'_ I thought with an uncaring expression as I hummed a small tune on the way back.


	15. Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2-P

Author's Note: Feeling like posting, so decided to put this up early today instead of tomorrow.

Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2.P (PHO Interlude 2)

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**Topic****: Merchants Taken Out!**

**In: Boards Brockton Bay Gangs Archer's Bridge Merchants**

**Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member)(The Guy in the Know)**

**Posted On Apr 12th 2011:**

That's right people, this thread is exactly what you think it is.

The infamous Merchants have been officially taken down last night in a 'recruitment drive' they were performing. They were taken out by the one and only Rider, the independent cape who also took out Lung with Weaver.

The reports state that Skidmark, Squealer, Mush, and the newly named Spore will not be going to the Birdcage. But they will most likely be be sent to New York State Penitentiary, with Skidmark specifically being sent to Arizona State Penitentiary.

There is a video **here** which shows Rider effortlessly defeating the Merchants along with him saving a civilian mid fight.

(Remember people, if you are going to record a video make sure you are a safe distance away from the fight as to not endanger yourself and others.)

Well, hope you all have a good day, as I certainly will!

(Showing page 1 of 19)

**Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

I remember the Merchants were around since I was a child.

I thought that the were unremovable from the Bay, but I guess I was proved wrong.

Time for me to celebrate this occasion with a nice cold beer.

**CapeGroupie313 (Veteran Member) (Cape Groupie)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Oh my God. Is this serious?

***After reading Report***

Well god damn, I thought Christmas was 3 months ago. Time for me to bust out the wine and have a nice long drink.

**Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Rider has done so much in such a short amount of time of being active as an independent.

Man, if I had the chance to I would shake this guy's hand.

**BadSamurai**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

I just realized how big of a power vacuum this is going to create.

Lung getting caught? Alright.

All the Merchants getting caught? Well, say hello to the Empire 88!

There's no way that they won't capitalize on this and try to obtain as much territory as possible.

**Chilldrizzle**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_BadSamurai_

You are sadly correct.

With the Merchants gone, the Empire and other groups from out of town may try to obtain territory.

We may have temporary happiness, but forever shall we have conflict in our lives.

**GstringGirl**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Rider looks like a knight in shining armor who saved the damsel in distress.

But whoever was recording should have gone to a safe location first before doing so. They could have gotten really hurt.

**SpecificProtagonist**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Wow, this guy just cleared a whole gang in one night.

Here's hoping he can get rid of the E88 soon.

**Thatdude**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_SpecificProtagonist_

If that happened then he would be a literal god-send.

But chances of that happening are really slim.

The Empire have a more than triple the amount of capes the Merchants had, along with stronger and more experienced ones like Hookwolf, Kaiser, and Cricket with more too.

**AllSeeingEye**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Wow, you've really been doing some work, huh?

I agree with everyone else.

Hope you can clear the E88 next, _ACertainGreenHairedRider_.

**End of Page. 1, ****2, 3 ... 17, 18, 19**

**Topic: Merchants Taken Out!**

**In: Boards Brockton Bay Gangs Archer's Bridge Merchants**

**Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member)(The Guy in the Know)**

**Posted On Apr 12th 2011:**

That's right people, this thread is exactly what you think it is.

The infamous Merchants have been officially taken down last night in a 'recruitment drive' they were performing. They were taken out by the one and only

Rider, the independent cape who also took out Lung with Weaver.

The reports state that Skidmark, Squealer, Mush, and the newly named Spore with not be going to the Birdcage. But they will most likely be be sent to New York State Penitentiary, with Skidmark specifically being sent to Arizona State Penitentiary.

There is a video **here** which shows Rider effortlessly defeating the Merchants capes along with him saving a civilian mid fight.

(Remember people, if you are going to record a video make sure you are a safe distance away from the fight as to not endanger yourself and others.)

Well, hope you all have a good day, as I certainly will!

(Showing page 5 of 19)

**Antigone**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Holy schmoly!

This man cleared out a gang that was active for years in a matter of moments!

I don't know about you guys but if I see this guy, I'll buy him a beer!

**Deadman**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Good god, the amount of skill and power he's shown is absurd.

The fact that he could stop Squealers truck is amazing but also scary.

It didn't even look like he was trying to stop the truck at all!

**QwertyD**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_Deadman_

I just realized that.

How strong is he really?

As far as we know, he could be holding back his power to not kill the Merchant capes.

**Lasersmile**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Well I don't care how strong he is, as long as he gets things done.

Really, in less three days, he's managed to take out Lung and all of the Merchants.

This man's a legend.

**Winged_One**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Oh, how interesting!

I'll certainly be expecting great things from this person...

I hope we can meet soon, _ACertainGreenHairedRider _

Then we can have a proper conversation.

**Feychick**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

How could someone just casually stop a truck and proceed to have a conversation with said person who is driving said truck?!? This man is a force of nature.

He must have bench pressed mountains for a living or something absurd like that. I don't want to know how he would do against someone like Leviathan, Behemoth, or even the Simurgh...

I would like to see a video, though. Just because that would look awesome to watch online...

Totally not because I want to see him punt an Endbringer. Nope.

**Sothoth**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_Feychick_

I agree.

He just stops the truck, says something to person driving truck, and shrugs off the hit like it was second nature. What. The. Heck?

I have a feeling that if there were bets between Rider and Leviathan, Rider would win them hands down!

You'd think he'd have broken bones or something but nope.

Completely fine. It's like he's invincible or something...

**XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

What if he's the one who was in the sky as a green object?

After all, he's only shown certain powers and he might have more.

He might be the chariot guy I was talking about or he may be more than he seems.

Just a thought from ya boi, _XxVoid_CowboyxX_

**GstringGirl**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_XxVoid_CowboyxX_

If that happened I would walk up to Rider and ask for a ride in his 'chariot'.

And if he really did have one, I would do it so I could get a beautiful view of the sky...

**ACertainGreenHairedRider (Verified Cape) (Argonauts) (Argonaut Co-Leader)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_XxVoid_CowboyxX_

You may be onto something there. I won't say anymore after that. After all, that would reveal too much... ;)

_Gstringgirl_

You may get a ride, m' lady. ***tips internet fedora***

In all seriousness, I would let you get a ride in the 'chariot', if I ever encountered you at any point.

You're the first to and most polite to ask, so you are the first of all people to board this fine vessel.

I don't know why I went all piratey there at the end, but whatever. I feel like getting an orange or something to eat now.

**End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ... 17, 18, 19**

**Topic: Merchants Taken Out!**

**In: Boards Brockton Bay Gangs Archer's Bridge Merchants**

**Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member)(The Guy in the Know)**

**Posted On Apr 12th 2011:**

That's right people, this thread is exactly what you think it is.

The infamous Merchants have been officially taken down last night in a 'recruitment drive' they were performing. They were taken out by the one and only

Rider, the independent cape who also took out Lung with Weaver.

The reports state that Skidmark, Squealer, Mush, and the newly named Spore with not be going to the Birdcage. But they will most likely be be sent to New York State Penitentiary, with Skidmark specifically being sent to Arizona State Penitentiary.

There is a video **here** which shows Rider effortlessly defeating the Merchants capes along with him saving a civilian mid fight.

(Remember people, if you are going to record a video make sure you are a safe distance away from the fight as to not endanger yourself and others.)

Well, hope you all have a good day, as I certainly will!

(Showing page 6 of 19)

**GstringGirl**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_ACertainGreenHairedRider_

Wait, really?

You would let me just have a ride in your chariot like that?

And _XxVoid_Cowboy_ is actually right for once? Huh... Oh. ***Packs Bags***

The world is truly ending!

**XxVoid_CowboyxX**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

Yes! I knew I wasn't insane!

I knew I was right! I knew it!

I was right and you were all wrong!

Ha! Suck it!

***performs victory dance***

Hah! You're all a bunch of losers cuz I am right!

**ACertainGreenHairedRider (Verified Cape) (Argonauts) (Argonaut Co-Leader)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_Gstringgirl_

Of course, I would let you ride in the chariot.

You seem like a nice and polite person, after all.

You may ride in the chariot. I have horses too if that helps.

And yes, _XxVoid_CowboyxX_ is actually right for once.

His reaction was just... yeah.

Let's move on from _that_ and _never speak of this again..._

**Aegis (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_ACertainGreenHairedRider_

Wait, really? That was you?

Dang, I really thought _XxVoid_CowboyxX_ was wrong.

Huh. Weird world.

Also, is a that part of your power or something?

If so, that would be pretty darn cool.

**Gallant (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_ACertainGreenHairedRider_

Wow, did not see that coming.

Thought you would deny it or something.

Though that does mean your powers are more diverse than people thought...

Man, everyone who is on your forum are going to go nuts over the info you just revealed.

Then again, your name is 'Rider', so it really should have been obvious that you had some sort of vehicle.

Really, it's just logical if you think about it for a moment.

**Tin Mother (Moderator)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

**_Everyone_**

This is not the forum to talk about Rider's speculative powers.

Please go to this thread if you want to do a power discussion.

**ACertainGreenHairedRider (Verified Cape) (Argonauts) (Argonaut Co-Leader)**

Replied On Apr 12th 2011:

_Tin Mother_

Hey, it's fine alright?

Let the kids have some fun just this once, mkay?

**Tin Mother (Moderator)**

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

_ACertainGreenHairedRider_

Erm, okay?

Huh. **What**...

Well, this is a **huge** problem.

Thank you for telling me about it.

**White Fairy (Veteran Member)**

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

I'm so confused right now.

What is happening?!?

**Valkyr (Wiki Warrior)**

Replied On Apr 13th 2011:

It's best not to think about it, to be honest.

I stopped thinking hours ago when I found out that XxVoid_CowboyxX was actually right for once...

End of Page. **1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 17, 18, 19**


	16. Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2-5

Μια εβδομάδα γεμάτη συμβάντα 2.5

_Taylor's POV_

_April 13, 2011_

_My House_

I woke to the loud beeping of my alarm clock. Slowly opening my eyes, I turned to the direction of the sound and saw the time. _6:45 A.M_, it displayed with the same dark red color as before. Letting go a drawn out sigh, I forced myself up from my comfy bed and changed into a pair of sweats.

_'Time for another normal day of school. Well, as normal as it could be at Winslow.'_ I thought, as I put on a pair of sneakers. I slowly went out of my room and into the kitchen. Dad was already sitting at the kitchen table wearing his bathrobe.

_'Nothing could have happened while I was asleep, right?'_ I mentally laughed and I could feel my lips curve upwards at that ridiculous thought. There was no way something could have been changed in a single night. Brockton Bay was filled with crime and villains got arrested pretty frequently, but they always came back one way or another. I broke out of that train of thought as Dad got up from the chair.

He looked more tired than usual, but that could just be my brain telling me that. He looked at me and gave me a small smile. A somewhat defeated smile, but it was still a smile nonetheless.

"Good morning, kiddo." He said, before kissing my forehead. He walked over to the fridge.

"Morning, Dad." I replied and he looked over his shoulder to me, "A little happy?"

"Mhmm."

"You sound really happy." He said.

Thinking about what he said, I guess I was. I never really had a moment where I would be okay with going to school since the Trio started bullying me. I always endured and tried to ignore what they'd say. This was one of those rare moments where I could actually do something and really act like myself without them making false rumors about me.

I nodded my head, "Yeah. I had a good dream."

There was a sizzle from the pan he was cooking with. The smell was really intoxicating. Wait, if Achilles doesn't eat or drink anything, does that mean he's never had bacon before? Did they even have bacon that early? _How would it have tasted? **How did they make bacon?**_ I snapped out of those odd questions and focused on listening to Dad as he spoke.

"If you're so happy, does that mean you won't go on your run?" He asked.

I smiled slightly. His question was more of a subtle plead for me to stop running or do a safer alternative and it was really assuring in some ways but annoying at the same time. Whenever a better and safer option popped up, he was always trying to make me feel safe. It was why I didn't want to tell him about my powers, because I had no idea how he would react. Would he be supportive, make me join the Wards, or something else? I hated this indecision I had. I couldn't make decisions as well as some other heroes that I know probably could.

"You know I have to go, Dad. If I don't do it once, then I won't have the motivation to do it tomorrow and the day after."

"You have the pepper spray, right?"

I nodded in acknowledgement and felt a pang of relief. I had managed to put it in my hoodie after the fight with Lung that night. It wouldn't really help against a cape, but maybe once Achilles starts my training session again I can practice some self defense or something.

"Mind turning on the news while I'm cooking? I want to see the morning news." I complied and went to turn on the TV. The screen shifted to show the BBNN* with 'Breaking News' colored in red letters on the bottom bar. I walked back to my seat and began to watch the broadcast that was showing.

**"Care to explain the situation, James?"** The blonde newswoman said as the screen panned over to the other reporter.

**"Why of course, Danielle. Last night, the parahumans in charge of the gang known as the 'Archer's Bridge Merchants were' all captured last night in an altercation with the newest independent cape on the scene, Rider. Here is footage from a civilian who recorded the altercation."** Huh, that's pretty amazing, the Bay will be much safer now that the Merchants were taken out by...wait, **WHAT**!

I subtly rushed off my seat in the kitchen and went into the living room, moving closer to the TV. They showed a low-quality video of a person with green hair and covered in gold armor completely obliterating Skidmark, pinning Mush to a wall, stopping Squealer's Truck, and knocking them all out in less than a couple of minutes.

_'Wait, why didn't he let me go with him?! That son of a bitch! He could have told me that he was going, at least…'_ I started planning on how to throttle the damn spirit for revenge as the reporter continued his debriefing.

**"Information from the PRT report states "While they will not be sent to the Birdcage, they will be tried for their crimes and most likely sent to New York State Penitentiary if found guilty." That's it for this report, Danielle."** The man finished with a stern expression.

**"Thanks James! In other news, the Canary Birdcage Trial has slowly been pushed forwards from April 30th to April 25th* as the people discu-"** I let the other news pass by, because this was not a normal day. Seriously, what the hell! Achilles just took out a whole gang in moments! Alright, maybe it was less of a gang and more of a cesspool of addicting drugs, but it was still a group of people that was causing trouble in the city!

"Dad, I'm going for my run now!" I called out to him. I vaguely heard him say 'be safe' as I ran out the door to see the person I was just thinking about. I walked up to him and Achilles turned to me with a casual expression **like he had done nothing hours ago.**

_"Follow me while I run so we can talk"_ I mentally commanded. He gave me a confused look before it shifted into one of realization.

_"Oh, is this is about what happened last night?"_ I nodded and he continued, _"Alright, we'll talk while you're running."_ Wait, while I'm running?

At my confusion he explained, _"People are going to be on the lookout for someone with green hair, either for recruitment or something else. Also, I don't gain anything from running with you in my regular form as I was summoned in my strongest state."_ Oh, that made much more sense. Also, that's really unfair, but I decided to keep my mouth shut about that. I nodded and started to jog, with him effortlessly jogging besides me.

_"So, why didn't you tell me that you went out?"_ I asked. He gave me a look of seriousness.

He continued with a serious look, _"I went out because…"_ Because? Because of what? He was trying to plant his flag as a hero? He was trying to help the Bay by getting rid of a gang?

_"...I was bored."_ He finished lamely. Huh. Wait a minute…

_"What."_ He went out and got rid of a gang… because _he was BORED!?_

I stopped running and stood underneath a tree. I began to laugh, thinking it was all a big joke. That this all started because he had nothing better to do. That he had cleared one of the most infamous gangs in the Bay because of **BOREDOM**. I saw his face and he wasn't laughing with me, he was just staring with that serious expression. Wait, is he actually serious?!

I mentally yelled with a look of disbelief, _"You're serious!? You got rid of the Merchants because you had nothing better to do?!"_

He turned to me and had the decency to look sheepish, _"Well, it could have been another gang or something and the Merchants just got really unlucky."_

_"What do you mean unlucky?"_ I asked. He gave me a casual look, _"Well, I could have run into the rest of the ABB or E88."_ he said, as if this was just a regular day in the Bay. I sighed, frustrated with this conversation.

_"I give up. I'll just think to myself that you got rid of the Merchants because you could. Simple as that."_ He looked at me with a surprised look, as if he was expecting more from me before shrugging.

_"You might want to finish your run soon. The bus leaves pretty soon, 7:45 if I remember. It's 7:30 by the way."_ He pointed out. Oh…**shit**. I immediately bolted towards my house, barely hearing Achilles burst out in laughter as he took in my misfortune.

\--

_Achilles' POV_

_April 13th, 2011_

_5:15 P.M_

_Hidden, Large and Open Clearing_

"I still can't believe you lied to me earlier about the bus." Taylor complained, struggling to perform her 20th lap. Man, she really needs to increase her stamina or else she'll end up in a bad situation when she's retreating. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I felt like you weren't running fast enough, so I decided to give you _some motivation_." I casually replied.

"Some motivation?! You made me run from that tree all the way to my house! That was 30 city blocks of sprinting in 4 minutes, just to be told that it was a prank!" She yelled incredulously before instantly collapsing on the beginning of her 21st lap, laying on the floor and breathing heavily. With a raised brow, I pulled her up.

"Well, would you like to try out my regular training regime?" Despite shaking her head rapidly and muttering incoherently about 'absurd physical training' I began to explain, "It may or may not include running 50 miles, performing 1000 jumping jacks, completing 500 push-ups, carrying a 10000 pound boulder over a mountain, and then-"

"I get it, this is nothing compared to what you had to do. So, I shouldn't be complaining too much." She interrupted, flinching in pain as she moved her aching leg around.

"Ugh, my muscles are in so much pain. I'm aching in places _I didn't even know had muscles._ My sore muscles have **sores** on them." She whined, sitting down on the floor. I felt the urge to say I could make her training much more strenuous, but I held back from doing so. And I now realize why Chiron took so much pleasure in my pain when I was training. _This is extremely gratifying for me to watch._ Either way, I suppose this is enough for now.

"Well, I guess that's enough physical training for today. For the rest of this session, just relax and focus on using your bugs again." I suggested, handing her a bottle of water. Profusely thanking me, she instantly downed all the water with greed.

"The next time we practice, I will teach you some self defense for when someone gets past your bugs. However, I don't think my style of fighting will work well for you since you lack the upper body strength for grapples and punches." I explained.

She looked at the ground with disappointment before I continued, "However, there are a couple of things that I can teach you. There are a couple of ways you can use your legs to attack in Pankration and in other styles involving legs and kicks, so I will teach that in our next session." By the time I finished my explanation, Taylor was staring at me with a hopeful expression.

"Also, I want you to train using your bugs to sense and see because I will not be going to school with you tomorrow." I stated. She looked at me with a surprised look and was going to protest before I elaborated, "I need to go to the Brockton Bay Bank and make an account so I can deposit the money we got on that night. I'd rather have a bank account made before the money gets discovered by your father."

Judging by the grimace on her face, she thought about the reaction her father would have and the questions she would get asked. There was a moment of silence afterwards, with her lips curved into a small frown and both her brows furrowed. She shook her head before turning to me.

"Yeah, I can handle being alone for tomorrow. It will be just like before, I can do it." She reluctantly agreed. I could see some indecision on her face, but if she says she can do it, I'll believe her.

I sighed in relief. This would make things so much easier. Now I hope that she won't be too mad when she realizes I'm going to stop a bank robbery. I mean, I wasn't lying when I said I was making a bank account. It was just a coincidence that I was at the bank at the same time as the Undersiders.

"Hey Taylor, I'm going to end this training session. But keep practicing your power by sensing with your bugs. It'll help you a lot when you are at Winslow tomorrow." I reminded her, she nodded and I continued. "Oh, right. I'm going to go out and see what time the bank is opens before heading back, is that alright?"

"Yeah, I guess that's fine. I'll keep practicing while you're gone." I hummed in acknowledgement and started walking off in spirit form.

\--

Achilles' POV

April 13th, 2011

5:45 P.M

Boardwalk

_'Man, there's a lot of payphone booths around.'_ I thought, looking around the city block. There were at least two payphones around every corner I went in the Boardwalk. Walking around, I found one that was isolated and empty. I went out of spirit form and quickly entered the see-through box.

Luckily, I found a phone book in Taylor's house before I went out last night and was able to find the Alcott's number. It showed their address too, but I didn't want to just show up and randomly say that their kid was about to be kidnapped. Inserting a quarter I found on the floor, I dialed in their number and waited for them to pick up. It took a few moments, but eventually someone answered.

"Hello, may I know who I am speaking to?" A man's voice says from the other side.

I quickly looked around, making sure that no one was spying on me or watching. Good, no one is here. I deepen my voice slightly, so anyone who happens to get a copy of the phone call won't be able to figure out it was me through a voice comparison.

"Hello, I am a parahuman who can see the future, and I called you to tell you that your daughter is a parahuman who is most likely going to be kidnapped soon." "How did you-" "I am going to tell you all I know about her. Dinah Alcott, twelve-years old, you took her out of school for a couple of weeks because she has been having headaches. She keeps talking about numbers and such." Good God, I sound like a grade-A stalker when I'm telling someone everything I know about them. I feel extremely wrong talking with my voice like this, but I wait for them to respond.

"Alright, besides everything you've told us, let's say that everything you say is right." Michael Alcott sounds mostly worried and extremely scared, but that makes sense. "What kind of danger is our Dinah going to be in?"

"A villain going by the name of 'Coil' will attempt to kidnap Dinah tomorrow for her power. He and I have knowledge that Dinah is a powerful precog or someone who can see the future in some way. If there is a small chance that she is one, then many people like him will attempt to kidnap your daughter and use her power to help reach their goals."

"If that's true, then why should I believe you're trying to help us?"

"I can't give you more information other than my word and I really can't make you do anything either. I'm only calling to try and prevent anything like this from happening to your daughter. And what would be the point of calling you if I were to kidnap her?"

I wait for them to respond and I can hear another voice arguing with Michael, probably Dinah's mother.

"Alright 'Thinker' if we don't want Dinah to be kidnapped, what should we do with only one day left?"

"May I speak to Dinah? She most likely has the answer to your problem." I can clearly hear them yelling at each other now, probably over her safety.

"Alright, we'll let you speak to her for a moment. But only because you are the only one who can help us at the moment." Well, damn. I didn't think they would actually let me speak to Dinah, but I guess they were convinced by all the information I told them.

I hear something moving around before I heard a voice much different from before.

"Hello," she sounds REALLY tired. Wow, I thought she'd have at least some energy, but I guess she's been using her power passively for a while now.

"Dinah, do you know what you're power can do?"

"A little bit, I can see numbers when I get asked a question."

"Do you mind answering some questions about your dillema, then?"

"Alright."

"What's the chance that you get kidnapped tomorrow if you don't do anything?"

"99.347%," she answers immediately. Well, that answers that. I can hear her parents arguing loudly in the background.

"Same thing, but if you join the PRT and Wards."

"68.928%." Well shit. I didn't think it would be higher than 40% at least, but that crosses that option off the list. There aren't many other choices, but there's a two more I can think of.

"What about if you decide to go with New Wave instead?"

"45.315%. My head is starting to hurt, so I have about one or two more questions left before it hurts."

"What if you join the new team with Weaver and Rider?" I swear by the Zeus, Hera, all the Gods above, if this is the best option…

There's a brief moment of silence, where I can only hear Dinah's parents still arguing in the background. I have no idea what Man of Mystery does to Dinah's power, but here's hoping she can give an answer.

"11.8-Uggghh, 11.821%*. I need to sit down and relax my head."

Well, shit. I think I now have a good idea on what Man of Mystery does to Coil's power, if I had to make a guess. But I really hoped it didn't come down to me helping her. If it's the best choice to help her then I guess I'll do it… and I just realized I have no definitive way to help her with this. I don't even have a secret base or anything like that to hide her at! Hmm, I might have to make a quick detour to the PRT HQ to see if the Merchant capes had capture bounties.

"Look, I appreciate everything you've done for us." Oh hello Dinah's mom, "But I think we can handle it from here. I don't know if this means much, but if you ever need help, feel free to ask and we'll be willing to help. Thanks for helping."

"Just helping as much as I can." I'm surprised that they are willing to help em, but I guess helping your daughter from being kidnapped is good enough for that. The line is cut off, leaving only empty white noise on the other end.

_'Well, I guess that's that.'_ I thought, somewhat satisfied with this talk.

_'Now where the hell is the PRT HQ?'_ I thought, mentally frustrated with the amount of work that I now had to accomplish tonight.

\--

Information Legend

: I don't know if there's a canon news station so I decided to make one up. BBNN, also known as the Brockton Bay News Network.

: I wasn't able to find a source which showed what the canon date for the Canary trial was, so if someone is able to find a quote or something that'd be appreciated.

: I've decided that Dinah's power can work through Man of Mystery, but it will give her a massive headache upon being asked one question about Achilles. (Essentially, if she's asked one question about Achilles, it will be the same as her getting asked questions for hours on end without stopping.) If you feel like this should change slightly or if I should change how it affects other thinkers powers, let me know and I will change it. (Provided it's with a good reason, at least.)


End file.
